Armed groups the world over prolong their struggles in an attempt to force governments to release prisoners. Nigeria’s Boko Haram is no exception. There are currently hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of suspected members of the Islamist organisation, who have not yet gone to trial, in prisons across northern Nigeria.
Over 60 per cent of prisoners in Nigeria have either not been tried or did not have a fair trial, Amnesty International estimates in its report, Waiting for the Hangman, estimates.
Extrajudicial killings of suspected armed robbers and people thought to pose a threat to national security are commonplace.
“It is standard practice that police arrest bystanders and witnesses and then start investigating. In the worst case scenario those people end up getting killed while in custody,” says Muhammad Zubairu, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Council.
