The Executive Director of Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, Maiduguri, Borno State , Hajiya Hamsatu Allamin has appealed to the federal government and all relevant stakeholders and authorities to impress on the Nigerian military, and Joint Task Force (JTF) to release those youths, men and women that were arrested and detained on 14th March 2013 on the fateful day, Giwa Barrack was attacked by Boko Haram insurgents which led to massive arrest of residents of Maiduguri city.
She also said that the wives, children, husband’s and relations of the victims of the mass arrest and detention about nine years ago have been in agony, psychological trauma, loss of hope, abject poverty, lack of care, lack of education, better health, stigmatization, deprivation, negligence and lack of means of livelihoods or support crying out for help.
The Executive Director who stated this Monday at Allamin Foundation office complex located at Royal Hospital Area added that the foundation since 7 years ago has made it a duty to mark 14th of March every year as an annual event to commemorate the day with the widows, widowers, orphan, sons, daughters and relations of the victims of the arrest a d detention.
According to her, the Foundation which has a network of 6 networks under its umbrella in the past and today 8 different networks comprising networks of widows, orphans, invisible children of Boko Haram fighters, young men, daughters and sons of the missing and detained parents and husband’s who have great and badly suffered and exposed to severe hardships and sufferings
Addressing journalists amidst peaceful protests and demonstrations by widows, orphans, young men, sons and daughters as well as relations and parents of the hundreds of thousands of youths, husband’s, wives and children during the attack, Hajiya Hamsatu noted that, “we observed this day every year in observance or commemoration of 14th March, the day Giwa Barracks was attacked by Boko Haram in broad day light.”
“This led the military to carry out massive and wide arrest and detention of men and women as well as youths which have been detained all these years without release or trial by the court”, Allamin said.
She however, demanded that a list with the names, states of arrest and location of detention of all the hundreds and thousands of people arrested in the context of the insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2011 be made available to the public.
A list with names of those who died in military custody since 2011 including the date and location of death should also be made public, a list with names of all those who are currently awaiting trial and their location of detention, the full list of detainees kept in Giwa Barracks on 14th March, 2014.
The Director further requested the report of the Presidential Commission on Special Detainees which was submitted to Mr. President in March 2018 and respond to the End of Visits Report d the UN Special Rapporteurs of Extra Judicial killings a d summary or Arbitrary Execution of 2019 on Nigeria (the north East part of the report).
“No information on our detained husbands for 7 years now. Knifer wives appeal for the release of their detained husbands, sons and relations. Youths solicit for acknowledgement of their ordeals and compensation. Save our souls and give us information on our disappeared and missing young men. No information in our arrested sons for 9 years now. We want accountability for our missing sons. Women detained as Insurgency suspects. Release innocent women in detention.
“We are wives of detained husbands. We want out husbands back. Hire Dole Mother’s, needing information on our detained sons. We are mother’s of detainees charge them to court or release them. Justice delayed is justice denied”, the women, orphans and youths said
The Legal Officer if the foundation, Barrister Yakubu Abdullahi told journalists that the foundation was doing it’s best to pursue the cases in court and solicits for justice while noting that, however, three cases have already been in Federal High Court Maiduguri awaiting judgement .
He added that the delay surrounding t include ,”he delay in the passage of the judgement in cases so far pursues include non availability of certain information required by the court initially and the information include also who were present at the time of the arrest.”
” Who made the arrest. Was it military or police or JTF. And where were they arrested or are being detained . Have relations or parents or families of ty detainees ever visited them among others”, Barrister Yakubu said.
The Chairman Board if Trustees (BOT), Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, Professor Mohammed Waziri called in federal government to intervene and make available to the public information on the where about whether death or alive if the hundreds and thousands of detainees arrested on 14th March 2011.
He lamented that the children, wives, families and relations of those arrested, detained and in custody of the military and JTF not being tried or charged to any competent court if law has been very cruel, worrisome and traumatic which requires government interventions.
