Amnesty International claims that girls who flee Boko Haram are being detained by the Nigerian army

On Monday, Amnesty International charged that the Nigerian army was unlawfully holding young women and children who had escaped from Boko Haram’s captivity because the military thought they were affiliated with the Islamist militant group.

The human rights group claimed that the charges, which the military refuted in a statement, were based on 126 interviews conducted with female former hostages between 2019 and 2024.

According to a research by Amnesty International, 31 people claimed that between 2015 and mid-2023, they were forcibly detained in military barracks for a few days to nearly four years, mostly due to their actual or suspected ties to Boko Haram.

The United Nations claims that Boko Haram’s armed insurgency in northeastern Nigeria has claimed the lives of over 35,000 people. The group has a nasty reputation and has been charged with rape, forced marriage, torture, and kidnapping. The most well-known incidence occurred in 2014 when 300 girls were abducted from Chibok.

More girls have been kidnapped since then, and many of them have lived with Boko Haram fighters for years. A few have managed to get away.

According to Samira Daoud, regional director of Amnesty International for West and Central Africa, “the Nigerian government has failed to uphold their human rights obligations to protect and adequately support these girls and young women.” in the study.

According to Major General Edward Buba, the spokesperson for defense, the military adheres to humanitarian law and protects human rights.

According to a statement from the spokesperson, Nigeria’s military “operates within the ambit of international law of armed conflict.”

The Nigerian military has counterattacked the Islamist organization, drawing condemnation for its harsh tactics.

The military conducted a covert mass abortion program as part of its fight against Boko Haram, according to a Reuters report from the previous year.