By Olukayode Michael, Maiduguri
SUNRISE – Wives and mothers of men
detained over complicity in Boko Haram, on Thursday asked the Federal Government
to tell them the whereabouts of their men.
They said: “We need to know what happened, even if our sons are dead. It is
time that President Buhari’s government acknowledged that thousands of young
men were arrested and died in military custody. They must release the list with
all their names and give us mothers the closure we are begging for.”
The women numbering over 100, speaking to journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday,
in an occasion commemorating the five years Boko Haram attack on Giwa Barrack,
during which many detained suspected insurgents were killed, said they were
still at a loss over the fate of their men, whether they have been killed or if
they still remain in detention.
The women, who organised themselves under a non-governmental agency, Jire Dole
(Justice is a Must), lamented that nothing has been heard from their men who
were in detention at Giwa Barrack before the attack by Boko Haram which saw
many killed and several others freed.
Leading the women, the Executive Director of Jire Dole, Hajja Hamsatu Allamin, said:
“Government needs to tell us about the whereabouts of our sons.”
Allamin said: “Thousands of young men and boys have been arrested by the
military in Maiduguri and surrounding towns in Borno State since 2011,
allegedly for being members of Boko Haram. Their mothers now demand answers
from the Nigerian authorities and call on President Muhammad Buhari to order
the military to release accurate information about all men and boys they have
arrested.
“Almost all of those arrested were taken to the Giwa Barracks military
detention facility in Maiduguri. No one currently knows their whereabouts. Some
have been in detention since 2011 with no access to their families, lawyers or
the outside world. Many have gone ‘missing’ or feared dead since they were
arrested by the military at the height of the fight against Boko Haram.”
She said: “Through the Jire Dole network, the mothers of some of these young
men and boys are continuing to demand for information and justice. Many of the
mothers have waited for years to hear what happened to their sons, none of whom
were ever taken to court.”
One of the women, Hajja Gana said: “Ever since my son was arrested in October
2011, I have been looking for him. I went to Giwa Barracks and saw him a week
after his arrest. I filed a case in court, but nothing ever happened. I have
never seen him again.”
She said: “We need to know what happened, even if our sons are dead. It is time
that President Buhari’s government acknowledges that thousands of young men
were arrested and died in military custody. They must release the list with all
their names and give us mothers the closure we are begging for.”
Hajja Gana is among hundreds of women who came together in 2016, to form a
network of survivors and relatives determined to campaign for truth, justice
and reparation. The network has been growing bigger and louder. Almost eight
years after her son was snatched away from her by the military, she remains
hopeful for information and justice.
She said: “We know that President Buhari can do the right thing and give us
justice. That is why we are today asking him to assist us.”