Amnesty International indicts Boko Haram, Nigerian Army in killing of older citizens

Amnesty International (AI) has indicted Boko Haram insurgents and the Nigerian Army of indiscriminately killing many older citizens due to their inability to flee attacks.

The international human rights organization, in a report released on Monday, December 7, noted that in many villages under the control of Boko Haram, there are large populations of older people who are unable to flee during attacks, or those who choose to stay behind and continue working their land.

According to AI in a 67-page report titled, ‘My heart is in pain: Older people’s experience of conflict, displacement, and detention in North-East Nigeria’, older people were killed both by the terrorist group and the military.

AI revealed that it had reviewed more than 120 images of corpses brought from a barracks to a local mortuary, and spoke to individuals with insider knowledge, who estimated that “15-25 per cent of those who perished were older men.”

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“This is disproportionately high, as older men appear to account for no more than 4 per cent of the population in North-East Nigeria. In April 2017 alone, 166 corpses were transferred from Giwa Barracks to the mortuary,” the report stated.

Speaking on the report, Joanne Mariner, the Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International, said:

“When Boko Haram has invaded towns and villages, older men and women have often been among the last to flee, leaving them particularly exposed to the armed group’s brutality and repression, amounting to war crimes and likely crimes against humanity.

“This has included torture, being forced to witness killings and abductions of their children, as well as looting resulting in extreme food insecurity.

“Nigeria’s military, in turn, has repeatedly shot older people to death in their own homes during raids on villages in Boko Haram-controlled areas.

“In these villages, older people face threats from all sides. Boko Haram loots their property and often restricts older women’s movement, making it harder for families to earn money and feed themselves.

“Others have burned to death inside their homes when the military torched villages perceived to support Boko Haram.”

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