MNN Hub
About 87 Nigerian Army personnel detained in a secret cell at 8 Division, Sokoto for years without trial protested against the “excruciating conditions” they are subjected to, including the denial of access to their wives and other family members.
SaharaReporters learnt from military sources at the division that the detainees rioted on Monday and Tuesday protested against the gory conditions they were subjected to, including the refusal of the army to allow them go for medical checkup.
SaharaReporters on Wednesday had reported that a coalition of human rights lawyers filed a petition at the United Nations Human Rights Commission against President Muhammadu Buhari and a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai over the illegal detention of the soldiers.
The petitioners had told the UNHRC based in Geneva, Switzerland, that the 87 soldiers had been held for over two years in unimaginable deplorable conditions at a place, not fit for human habitation.
The petition obtained by SaharaReporters had revealed how some of the affected soldiers had lost their sight as a result of their incarceration while some have developed piles and whooping cough.
They noted that the 87 detainees in Sokoto are entitled to N10,000 each per day, amounting to N300,000 per month, and N3.6 million per year. They noted that the money was not, however, given to the detainees, while accusing top military officers of using the inmates to make money.
Meanwhile, speaking with SaharaReporters on Thursday, a top military source said that the soldiers rioted on Tuesday because the army had insisted against the law that they had no right to see their families.
He said, “Section 149 of the Armed Forces Act Cap B20 grants the soldiers right to write petitions after a court sentence if they are not satisfied with the “illegalities” of the court.
“But the Nigerian Army is trying to indict the soldiers over the petition by claiming that they have committed mutiny. The soldiers have insisted that they have the right to write a petition, therefore, they did not commit any mutiny.
“The thing is becoming a recurring decimal that they denied the detained soldiers the right to see their families. They have not allowed the soldiers to go for medical checkup. It was only yesterday (Wednesday) that one Sergeant on his initiative took some of them to the hospital.
“This was after a protest by the detainees on Monday and Tuesday. They are not all soldiers. Among them are also a military officer, two civilians and two police officers.”
Source: SaharaReporters.com | Read More
