Nigeria is a federal republic composed of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. In February citizens re-elected President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress party to a second four-year term. Most independent observers agreed the election outcome was credible despite logistical challenges, localized violence, and some irregularities.

The Nigeria Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency along with other federal organizations. The Department of State Services is responsible for internal security and nominally reports to the president through the national security adviser. The Nigerian Armed Forces, which report to the Ministry of Defense, are responsible for external security but also have some domestic security responsibilities. Civilian authorities did not always maintain effective control over the security services.

The insurgency in the Northeast by the militant terrorist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISIS-WA) continued. The groups conducted numerous attacks on government and civilian targets, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries, widespread destruction, the internal displacement of more than two million persons, and external displacement of an estimated 243,875 Nigerian refugees to neighboring countries as of September 30.

Significant human rights issues included unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention, all the above by both government and nonstate actors; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; unlawful infringement on citizens’ privacy rights; criminal libel; violence against and unjustified arrests of journalists; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons and religious minorities; widespread and pervasive corruption; crimes involving violence targeting LGBTI persons; criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct between adults; and forced and bonded labor.

The government took some steps to investigate alleged abuses but there were few public reports of prosecutions of officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. Impunity remained widespread at all levels of government. No charges were filed in some of the significant allegations of human rights violations by security forces and cases of police or military extortion or other abuse of power.

The Borno State government provided financial and in-kind resources to the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a nongovernmental self-defense militia that at times coordinated with the military. Human rights organizations and press reporting alleged the CJTF committed human rights abuses. The government took few steps to investigate or punish CJTF members who committed human rights abuses, including past recruitment and use of child soldiers. Boko Haram recruited and forcefully conscripted child soldiers and carried out scores of person-borne improvised explosive device (IED) attacks–many by young women and girls forced into doing so–and other attacks on population centers in the Northeast and in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Abductions by Boko Haram and ISIS-WA continued. Both groups subjected many women and girls to sexual and gender-based violence, including forced marriages, sexual slavery, and rape. The government investigated attacks by Boko Haram and ISIS-WA and took steps to prosecute their members, although the majority of suspects were held in military custody without charge.

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
A. ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF LIFE AND OTHER UNLAWFUL OR POLITICALLY MOTIVATED KILLINGS
There were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary, unlawful, or extrajudicial killings. The national police, army, and other security services sometimes used lethal and excessive force to disperse protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects. Improving from previous years, police forces engaging in crowd-control operations generally attempted to disperse crowds using nonlethal tactics, such as firing tear gas, before escalating their use of force.

Authorities did not always hold police, military, or other security force personnel accountable for the use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody. State and federal panels of inquiry investigating suspicious deaths generally did not make their findings public. In 2017 the acting president convened a civilian-led presidential investigative panel to review compliance of the armed forces with human rights obligations and rules of engagement, and the panel submitted its findings in February 2018. As of September no portions of the report had been made public.

As of September there were no reports of the federal government further investigating or holding individuals accountable for the 2015 killing and subsequent mass burial of members of a Shia political organization, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and other civilians by Nigerian Army (NA) forces in Zaria, Kaduna State. In 2016 the government of Kaduna made public the Kaduna State judicial commission’s nonbinding report, which found the NA used “excessive and disproportionate” force during the 2015 altercations in which 348 IMN members and one soldier died. The commission recommended the federal government conduct an independent investigation and prosecute anyone found to have acted unlawfully. It also called for the proscription of the IMN and the monitoring of its members and their activities. A 2016 report by the government of Kaduna State included acceptance of the commission’s recommendation to investigate and prosecute allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by the NA. As of September there was no indication that authorities had held any members of the NA accountable for the events in Zaria.

https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/nigeria/

A. ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF LIFE AND OTHER UNLAWFUL OR POLITICALLY MOTIVATED KILLINGS

Executive Summary
Nigeria is a federal republic composed of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. In February citizens re-elected President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress party to a second four-year term. Most independent observers agreed the election outcome was credible despite logistical challenges, localized violence, and some irregularities.

The Nigeria Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency along with other federal organizations. The Department of State Services is responsible for internal security and nominally reports to the president through the national security adviser. The Nigerian Armed Forces, which report to the Ministry of Defense, are responsible for external security but also have some domestic security responsibilities. Civilian authorities did not always maintain effective control over the security services.

The insurgency in the Northeast by the militant terrorist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISIS-WA) continued. The groups conducted numerous attacks on government and civilian targets, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries, widespread destruction, the internal displacement of more than two million persons, and external displacement of an estimated 243,875 Nigerian refugees to neighboring countries as of September 30.

Significant human rights issues included unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention, all the above by both government and nonstate actors; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; unlawful infringement on citizens’ privacy rights; criminal libel; violence against and unjustified arrests of journalists; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons and religious minorities; widespread and pervasive corruption; crimes involving violence targeting LGBTI persons; criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct between adults; and forced and bonded labor.

The government took some steps to investigate alleged abuses but there were few public reports of prosecutions of officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. Impunity remained widespread at all levels of government. No charges were filed in some of the significant allegations of human rights violations by security forces and cases of police or military extortion or other abuse of power.

The Borno State government provided financial and in-kind resources to the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a nongovernmental self-defense militia that at times coordinated with the military. Human rights organizations and press reporting alleged the CJTF committed human rights abuses. The government took few steps to investigate or punish CJTF members who committed human rights abuses, including past recruitment and use of child soldiers. Boko Haram recruited and forcefully conscripted child soldiers and carried out scores of person-borne improvised explosive device (IED) attacks–many by young women and girls forced into doing so–and other attacks on population centers in the Northeast and in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Abductions by Boko Haram and ISIS-WA continued. Both groups subjected many women and girls to sexual and gender-based violence, including forced marriages, sexual slavery, and rape. The government investigated attacks by Boko Haram and ISIS-WA and took steps to prosecute their members, although the majority of suspects were held in military custody without charge.

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
A. ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF LIFE AND OTHER UNLAWFUL OR POLITICALLY MOTIVATED KILLINGS
There were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary, unlawful, or extrajudicial killings. The national police, army, and other security services sometimes used lethal and excessive force to disperse protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects. Improving from previous years, police forces engaging in crowd-control operations generally attempted to disperse crowds using nonlethal tactics, such as firing tear gas, before escalating their use of force.

Authorities did not always hold police, military, or other security force personnel accountable for the use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody. State and federal panels of inquiry investigating suspicious deaths generally did not make their findings public. In 2017 the acting president convened a civilian-led presidential investigative panel to review compliance of the armed forces with human rights obligations and rules of engagement, and the panel submitted its findings in February 2018. As of September no portions of the report had been made public.

As of September there were no reports of the federal government further investigating or holding individuals accountable for the 2015 killing and subsequent mass burial of members of a Shia political organization, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and other civilians by Nigerian Army (NA) forces in Zaria, Kaduna State. In 2016 the government of Kaduna made public the Kaduna State judicial commission’s nonbinding report, which found the NA used “excessive and disproportionate” force during the 2015 altercations in which 348 IMN members and one soldier died. The commission recommended the federal government conduct an independent investigation and prosecute anyone found to have acted unlawfully. It also called for the proscription of the IMN and the monitoring of its members and their activities. A 2016 report by the government of Kaduna State included acceptance of the commission’s recommendation to investigate and prosecute allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by the NA. As of September there was no indication that authorities had held any members of the NA accountable for the events in Zaria.

The report also accepted the recommendation to hold IMN leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky responsible for all illegal acts committed by IMN members during the altercations and in the preceding 30 years. In 2016 a federal court declared the continued detention without charge of Zakzaky and his wife illegal and unconstitutional. The court ordered their release by January 2017. The federal government did not comply with this order, and Zakzaky, his spouse, and other IMN members remained in detention. In April 2018 the Kaduna State government charged Zakzaky in state court with multiple felonies stemming from the death of the soldier at Zaria. The charges included unlawful gathering, criminal conspiracy, and culpable homicide, which can carry the death penalty. In October 2018 press reported IMN members were marching toward Abuja along at least three major feeder thoroughfares. During a clash with security forces at a military checkpoint at the border between Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the army reportedly used live rounds to break up the crowd. Amnesty International Nigeria reported at least 39 deaths and numerous injuries among the marchers. The government reported it opened an internal investigation of this incident but did not publish its findings. In December 2018 the New York Times published video footage that appeared to show armed forces members beating and shooting unarmed protesters. As of September there was no evidence that any members of the security forces had been prosecuted for these incidents.

In July the federal government banned the IMN and declared it a terrorist organization, stating the group had engaged in criminality, including attacking security forces and destroying public property, and accused the group of growing links to Iran. In August Zakzaky and his wife were permitted medical furlough to travel to India to seek medical treatment, but according to media reports they refused treatment and returned to Nigeria at their own insistence. As of September, Zakzaky’s case was pending. In July 2018 a Kaduna State High Court dismissed charges of aiding and abetting culpable homicide against more than 80 IMN members. The Kaduna State government appealed the ruling. Approximately 100 additional IMN members remained in detention.

In 2017 the air force mistakenly bombed an informal internally displaced persons (IDP) settlement in Rann, Borno State, which resulted in the killing and injuring of more than 100 civilians, humanitarian workers, and Nigerian Army personnel. The government and military leaders publicly assumed responsibility for the strike. Defense Headquarters conducted its own internal investigation. While the report was never publicly released, the board of inquiry briefed the press on some of the report’s conclusions and recommendations on July 25, 2017. The investigation cited a ‘lack of appropriate marking of the area’ and made recommendations for the air force and army to better communicate with the humanitarian community. The Nigerian Air Force increased its efforts to ensure its personnel are able to apply international humanitarian law and international human rights law in an operational setting through increased training of its personnel.

There were reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings related to internal conflicts in the Northeast and other areas (see section 1.g.).

PRISON AND DETENTION CENTER CONDITIONS

Executive Summary
Nigeria is a federal republic composed of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. In February citizens re-elected President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress party to a second four-year term. Most independent observers agreed the election outcome was credible despite logistical challenges, localized violence, and some irregularities.

The Nigeria Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency along with other federal organizations. The Department of State Services is responsible for internal security and nominally reports to the president through the national security adviser. The Nigerian Armed Forces, which report to the Ministry of Defense, are responsible for external security but also have some domestic security responsibilities. Civilian authorities did not always maintain effective control over the security services.

The insurgency in the Northeast by the militant terrorist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISIS-WA) continued. The groups conducted numerous attacks on government and civilian targets, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries, widespread destruction, the internal displacement of more than two million persons, and external displacement of an estimated 243,875 Nigerian refugees to neighboring countries as of September 30.

Significant human rights issues included unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention, all the above by both government and nonstate actors; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; unlawful infringement on citizens’ privacy rights; criminal libel; violence against and unjustified arrests of journalists; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons and religious minorities; widespread and pervasive corruption; crimes involving violence targeting LGBTI persons; criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct between adults; and forced and bonded labor.

The government took some steps to investigate alleged abuses but there were few public reports of prosecutions of officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. Impunity remained widespread at all levels of government. No charges were filed in some of the significant allegations of human rights violations by security forces and cases of police or military extortion or other abuse of power.

The Borno State government provided financial and in-kind resources to the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a nongovernmental self-defense militia that at times coordinated with the military. Human rights organizations and press reporting alleged the CJTF committed human rights abuses. The government took few steps to investigate or punish CJTF members who committed human rights abuses, including past recruitment and use of child soldiers. Boko Haram recruited and forcefully conscripted child soldiers and carried out scores of person-borne improvised explosive device (IED) attacks–many by young women and girls forced into doing so–and other attacks on population centers in the Northeast and in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Abductions by Boko Haram and ISIS-WA continued. Both groups subjected many women and girls to sexual and gender-based violence, including forced marriages, sexual slavery, and rape. The government investigated attacks by Boko Haram and ISIS-WA and took steps to prosecute their members, although the majority of suspects were held in military custody without charge.

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
A. ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF LIFE AND OTHER UNLAWFUL OR POLITICALLY MOTIVATED KILLINGS
There were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary, unlawful, or extrajudicial killings. The national police, army, and other security services sometimes used lethal and excessive force to disperse protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects. Improving from previous years, police forces engaging in crowd-control operations generally attempted to disperse crowds using nonlethal tactics, such as firing tear gas, before escalating their use of force.

Authorities did not always hold police, military, or other security force personnel accountable for the use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody. State and federal panels of inquiry investigating suspicious deaths generally did not make their findings public. In 2017 the acting president convened a civilian-led presidential investigative panel to review compliance of the armed forces with human rights obligations and rules of engagement, and the panel submitted its findings in February 2018. As of September no portions of the report had been made public.

As of September there were no reports of the federal government further investigating or holding individuals accountable for the 2015 killing and subsequent mass burial of members of a Shia political organization, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and other civilians by Nigerian Army (NA) forces in Zaria, Kaduna State. In 2016 the government of Kaduna made public the Kaduna State judicial commission’s nonbinding report, which found the NA used “excessive and disproportionate” force during the 2015 altercations in which 348 IMN members and one soldier died. The commission recommended the federal government conduct an independent investigation and prosecute anyone found to have acted unlawfully. It also called for the proscription of the IMN and the monitoring of its members and their activities. A 2016 report by the government of Kaduna State included acceptance of the commission’s recommendation to investigate and prosecute allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by the NA. As of September there was no indication that authorities had held any members of the NA accountable for the events in Zaria.

The report also accepted the recommendation to hold IMN leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky responsible for all illegal acts committed by IMN members during the altercations and in the preceding 30 years. In 2016 a federal court declared the continued detention without charge of Zakzaky and his wife illegal and unconstitutional. The court ordered their release by January 2017. The federal government did not comply with this order, and Zakzaky, his spouse, and other IMN members remained in detention. In April 2018 the Kaduna State government charged Zakzaky in state court with multiple felonies stemming from the death of the soldier at Zaria. The charges included unlawful gathering, criminal conspiracy, and culpable homicide, which can carry the death penalty. In October 2018 press reported IMN members were marching toward Abuja along at least three major feeder thoroughfares. During a clash with security forces at a military checkpoint at the border between Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the army reportedly used live rounds to break up the crowd. Amnesty International Nigeria reported at least 39 deaths and numerous injuries among the marchers. The government reported it opened an internal investigation of this incident but did not publish its findings. In December 2018 the New York Times published video footage that appeared to show armed forces members beating and shooting unarmed protesters. As of September there was no evidence that any members of the security forces had been prosecuted for these incidents.

In July the federal government banned the IMN and declared it a terrorist organization, stating the group had engaged in criminality, including attacking security forces and destroying public property, and accused the group of growing links to Iran. In August Zakzaky and his wife were permitted medical furlough to travel to India to seek medical treatment, but according to media reports they refused treatment and returned to Nigeria at their own insistence. As of September, Zakzaky’s case was pending. In July 2018 a Kaduna State High Court dismissed charges of aiding and abetting culpable homicide against more than 80 IMN members. The Kaduna State government appealed the ruling. Approximately 100 additional IMN members remained in detention.

In 2017 the air force mistakenly bombed an informal internally displaced persons (IDP) settlement in Rann, Borno State, which resulted in the killing and injuring of more than 100 civilians, humanitarian workers, and Nigerian Army personnel. The government and military leaders publicly assumed responsibility for the strike. Defense Headquarters conducted its own internal investigation. While the report was never publicly released, the board of inquiry briefed the press on some of the report’s conclusions and recommendations on July 25, 2017. The investigation cited a ‘lack of appropriate marking of the area’ and made recommendations for the air force and army to better communicate with the humanitarian community. The Nigerian Air Force increased its efforts to ensure its personnel are able to apply international humanitarian law and international human rights law in an operational setting through increased training of its personnel.

There were reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings related to internal conflicts in the Northeast and other areas (see section 1.g.).

B. DISAPPEARANCE
The publisher of Bayelsa State-based tabloid the Weekly Source, Jones Abiri, was held for more than two years in incommunicado detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) without trial, access to counsel, or family visitation. Abiri told reporters that he was blindfolded, held in an underground cell for most of the two years, and did not have access to medication in detention (see section 2.a.). The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported Abiri was accused of being a member of a Niger Delta militant group but was not formally charged, and said Abiri’s detention was in response to critical coverage appearing in the July 2016 edition of the Weekly Source. Following an open letter from the CPJ and significant public outcry, Abiri was arraigned and eventually released on bail in 2018. Abiri was re-arrested early in the year and charged with cybercrime, sabotage, and terrorism offenses, and remained in detention as of September.

On August 30, the International Day of the Disappeared, Amnesty International (AI) issued a statement calling on the government to account for victims of enforced disappearance, including the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, a blogger who was abducted from his home in Kaduna State in August.

Criminal groups abducted civilians in the Niger Delta and the Southeast, often to collect ransom payments. Maritime kidnappings remained common as militants turned to piracy and related crimes to support themselves. On July 13, for example, Nigerian pirates boarded a cargo vessel off the coast of Bayelsa, kidnapping 10 Turkish sailors and taking them away by speedboat. The pirates, initially demanding three million dollars as a ransom payment, reportedly released the sailors in August after weeks of negotiations.

Other parts of the country also experienced a significant number of abductions. Prominent and wealthy figures were often targets of abduction. For example, on May 1, armed assailants kidnapped the nephew of President Buhari and held him for more than two months before police forces conducted a rescue operation.

Boko Haram and ISIS-WA conducted large-scale abductions in Borno and Yobe States (see section 1.g.).

C. TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
The constitution and law prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The 2017 Anti-Torture Act defines and specifically criminalizes torture. The law prescribes offenses and penalties for any person, including law enforcement officers, who commits torture or aids, abets, or by act or omission is an accessory to torture. It also provides a basis for victims of torture to seek civil damages. The 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of arrestees; however, it fails to prescribe penalties for violators. Each state must also individually adopt the ACJA for the legislation to apply beyond the FCT and federal agencies. As of July the states of Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, and Rivers had adopted ACJA-compliant legislation.

The Ministry of Justice previously established a National Committee Against Torture (NCAT). Lack of legal and operational independence and limited funding prevented NCAT from carrying out its work effectively.

The law prohibits the introduction into trials of evidence and confessions obtained through torture. Authorities did not always respect this prohibition and, according to credible international organizations, the Special Antirobbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) sometimes used torture to extract confessions later used to try suspects.

In 2016 AI reported SARS agents regularly tortured detainees in custody as a means of extracting confessions and bribes. In response to AI’s findings, the inspector general of police (IGP) reportedly admonished SARS commanders and announced broad reforms to correct SARS units’ use of excessive force and failures to follow due process. In late 2017 citizens began a social media campaign (#EndSARS) to document physical abuse and extortion by SARS officers and demanded SARS units be disbanded. In December 2017 the IGP announced plans to reorganize SARS units, but complaints of abuse continued. Several SARS agents were dismissed from the force and, in some instances, prosecuted, and the NPF sought technical assistance for investigations of SARS agents. The government failed to publicly release information on investigations and punishment of a majority of misconduct cases. In August 2018 then acting president Yemi Osinbajo ordered the IGP to overhaul the management and activities of SARS and ordered the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to set up a “Special Panel” with public hearings on SARS abuses. The government released the report in June recommending the dismissal and prosecution of 24 officers, the dismissal of an additional 13 officers, and the arrest and prosecution of two retired officers. Allegations of abuse by SARS agents continued throughout the year.

Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international human rights groups accused the security services of illegal detention, inhuman treatment, and torture of criminal suspects, militants, detainees, and prisoners. According to reports, security services committed rape and other forms of violence against women and girls, usually with impunity. In April, AI reported at least 10 soldiers in Giwa Barracks sexually exploited female detainees, demanding sex in exchange for food, soap, other basic necessities, and the promise of freedom. As of September the government had not held any responsible officials to account for reported incidents of torture in detention facilities in the Northeast, including Giwa Barracks.

Police used a technique commonly referred to as “parading” of arrestees, which involved walking arrestees through public spaces and subjecting them to public ridicule and abuse. Bystanders often taunted and hurled food and other objects at arrestees.

The sharia courts in 12 states and the FCT may prescribe punishments such as caning, amputation, flogging, and death by stoning. The nature of a case and the consent of the parties usually determine what type of court has jurisdiction. The constitution specifically recognizes sharia courts for “civil proceedings;” they do not have the authority to compel participation, whether by non-Muslims or Muslims. At least one state, Zamfara, requires civil cases in which all litigants are Muslim be heard in sharia courts, with the option to appeal any decision to the common law court. Non-Muslims have the option to have their cases tried in the sharia courts if they wish.

The sharia criminal procedure code allows defendants 30 days to appeal sentences involving mutilation or death to a higher sharia court. Statutory law mandates state governors treat all court decisions equally, including amputation or death sentences, regardless of whether issued by a sharia or a non-sharia court. Authorities often did not carry out sentences of caning, amputation, and stoning ordered by sharia courts because defendants frequently appealed, a process that could be lengthy. Federal appellate courts had not ruled on whether such punishments violate the constitution because no relevant cases reached the federal level. Although sharia appellate courts consistently overturned stoning and amputation sentences on procedural or evidentiary grounds, there were no challenges on constitutional grounds.

There were reports of canings during the year. On May 28, a sharia court convicted a 20-year-old man for eating a mango during Ramadan during restricted hours and publicly flogged him with 40 lashes. Defendants generally did not challenge caning sentences in court as a violation of statutory law. Sharia courts usually carried out caning immediately. In some cases convicted individuals paid fines or went to prison in lieu of caning.

There were no new reports of sexual exploitation or abuse by peacekeepers from Nigeria deployed to UN peacekeeping missions. The government did not report investigating allegations 49 Nigerian soldiers deployed as UN peacekeepers to Liberia sexually exploited and abused women and children between 2003 and 2017.

PRISON AND DETENTION CENTER CONDITIONS
Prison and detention center conditions remained harsh and life threatening. Prisoners and detainees reportedly were subjected to gross overcrowding, inadequate medical care, food and water shortages, and other abuses; some of these conditions resulted in deaths. The government often detained suspected militants outside the formal prison system (see section 1.g.). In August the government passed a prison reform law and renamed the Nigerian Prison Services as the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS).

Physical Conditions: Overcrowding was a significant problem. Although the total designed capacity of the country’s prisons was 50,153 inmates, as of July they held 73,995 prisoners. Approximately 68 percent of inmates were in pretrial detention or remanded. As of July there were 1,489 female inmates. Authorities sometimes held female and male prisoners together, especially in rural areas. Prison authorities often held juvenile suspects with adults.

Most of the 240 prisons were 70 to 80 years old and lacked basic facilities. Lack of potable water, inadequate sewage facilities, and severe overcrowding resulted in dangerous and unsanitary conditions. For example, according to press reports, Agodi Minimum Security Prison in Oyo State had 1,189 inmates despite a maximum capacity of 390.

Disease remained pervasive in cramped, poorly ventilated prison facilities, which had chronic shortages of medical supplies. Inadequate medical treatment caused many prisoners to die from treatable illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Although authorities attempted to isolate persons with communicable diseases, facilities often lacked adequate space, and inmates with these illnesses lived with the general prison population. There were no reliable statistics on the total number of prison deaths during the year.

Prisoners and detainees were reportedly subjected to torture, gross overcrowding, food and water shortages, inadequate medical treatment, deliberate and incidental exposure to heat and sun, and infrastructure deficiencies that led to wholly inadequate sanitary conditions that could result in death. Guards and prison officials reportedly extorted inmates or levied fees on them to pay for food, prison maintenance, transport to routine court appointments, and release from prison. Female inmates in some cases faced the threat of rape.

Only prisoners with money or support from their families had sufficient food. Prison officials routinely stole money provided for prisoners’ food. Poor inmates often relied on handouts from others to survive. Prison officials, police, and other security force personnel often denied inmates food and medical treatment to punish them or extort money.

In general prisons had no facilities to care for pregnant women or nursing mothers. Although the law prohibits the imprisonment of children, minors–many of whom were born in prison–lived in the prisons.

Several unofficial military prisons continued to operate, including the Giwa Barracks facility in Maiduguri, Borno State. Although conditions in the Giwa Barracks detention facility reportedly marginally improved, detainees were denied due process and subjected to arbitrary and indefinite detention in conditions that remained harsh and life threatening (see section 1.g.). There were no reports of accountability for past reported deaths in custody, nor for past reports from AI alleging that an estimated 20,000 persons were arbitrarily detained between 2009 and 2015, with as many as 7,000 dying in custody.

After multiple releases during the year (see Improvements below), it was unclear how many children or adults remained in detention at Giwa Barracks or other unofficial detention facilities. According to press and NGO reporting, the military continued to arrest and remand to military detention facilities, including Giwa Barracks, additional persons suspected of association with Boko Haram or ISIS-WA.
The government continued to arrest and detain for prolonged periods, women and children removed from or allegedly associated with Boko Haram and ISIS-WA. They included women and girls who had been forcibly married to or sexually enslaved by the insurgents. The government reportedly detained them for screening and their perceived intelligence value. In April, AI reported authorities detained children removed from Boko Haram, including former child solders, with adults in Maiduguri Maximum Security Prison. There were multiple reports that adult inmates were sexually exploiting children. In September, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported children detained for alleged association with Boko Haram and ISIS-WA were held in poor conditions in Giwa Barracks.

Administration: While prison authorities allowed visitors within a scheduled timeframe, few visits occurred, largely due to lack of family resources and travel distances. Prison officials often requested bribes to allow access for visitors.

The ACJA provides that the chief judge of each state, or any magistrate designated by the chief judge, shall conduct monthly inspections of police stations and other places of detention within the magistrate’s jurisdiction, other than prisons, and may inspect records of arrests, direct the arraignment of suspects, and grant bail if previously refused but appropriate.

Independent Monitoring: There was limited monitoring of prisons by independent nongovernmental observers. The International Committee of the Red Cross had access to police detention, NCS, and some military detention facilities.

Improvements: Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), a deradicalization program, graduated 151 former low-level Boko Haram affiliate members and former detainees. Some OPSC graduates faced difficulty in reintegrating into communities due to stigmatization from being associated with Boko Haram.

D. ARBITRARY ARREST OR DETENTION
Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, police and security services employed these practices. According to numerous reports, since 2013 the military arbitrarily arrested and detained–often in unmonitored military detention facilities–thousands of persons in the context of the fight against Boko Haram in the Northeast (see section 1.g.). In their prosecution of corruption cases, law enforcement and intelligence agencies often failed to follow due process and arrested suspects without appropriate arrest and search warrants.

ARREST PROCEDURES AND TREATMENT OF DETAINEES
Police and other security services have the authority to arrest individuals without first obtaining warrants if they have reasonable suspicion a person committed an offense, a power they often abused. The law requires that, even during a state of emergency, detainees must appear before a magistrate within 48 hours and have access to lawyers and family members. In many instances government and security officials did not adhere to this regulation. Police held for interrogation individuals found in the vicinity of a crime for periods ranging from a few hours to several months, and after their release, authorities sometimes asked the individuals to return for further questioning. The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest, transport the accused to a police station for processing within a reasonable time, and allow the suspect to obtain counsel and post bail. Families were afraid to approach military barracks used as detention facilities. Police detained suspects without informing them of the charges against them or allowing access to counsel and family members; such detentions often included solicitation of bribes. Provision of bail often remained arbitrary or subject to extrajudicial influence. Judges often set stringent bail conditions. In many areas with no functioning bail system, suspects remained incarcerated indefinitely in investigative detention. Authorities kept detainees incommunicado for long periods. Numerous detainees stated police demanded bribes to take them to court hearings or to release them. If family members wanted to attend a trial, police often demanded additional payment.

All these from US government, oga ooooo

This is government that sent the armed forces to murder hundreds of unarmed IPOB and IMN just because it does not like what both groups are agitating for, then turned around to declare both of them terrorists

This is government that has never sent the armed forces against the killer herdsmen, who murder thousands of Nigerians each year, and far from prescribing the killer herdsmen, is offering them Ruga settlement so they can stop killing

Human rights in Nigeria is a joke

gidgiddy:
This is government that sent the armed forces to murder hundreds of unarmed IPOB and IMN just because it does not like what both groups are agitating for, then turned around to declare both of them terrorists

This is government that has never sent the armed forces against the killer herdsmen, who murder thousands of Nigerians each year, and far from prescribing the killer herdsmen, is offering them Ruga settlement so they can stop killing

Human rights in Nigeria is a joke

Some sycophants believe otherwise..................

If a former emir can be detained without anyone claiming responsibility and even a sitting Governor can only visit.............. What human right abuse can be more than that............................

Now, that is one long ass report.

But the crux of the matter is that human rights abuses have become one-a-penny in Nigeria.

FrLukas:
Now, that is one long ass report.

But the crux of the matter is that human rights abuses have become one-a-penny in Nigeria.

Nigeria has never be this low. Police are brutalizing people most especially young men and our government only folds its hands. Segalink is now more popular than IGP

Omooba77:


Nigeria has never be this low. Police are brutalizing people most especially young men and our government only folds its hands. Segalink is now more popular than IGP

Me, I am just tired.

Seriously tired.

If I could make one wish come true, it would be the peaceful break up of Nigeria.

I am tired jare.

[s]

FrLukas:


Me, I am just tired.

Seriously tired.

If I could make one wish come true, it would be the peaceful break up of Nigeria.

I am tired jare.

[/s]

FrLukas:


Me, I am just tired.

Seriously tired.

If I could make one wish come true, it would be the peaceful break up of Nigeria.

I am tired jare.

God will help us push away these evil people

Omooba77:


God will help us push away these evil people

Amen and amen o.

[s]

FrLukas:


Amen and amen o.

[/s]

DamnnnIger:
[s][/s]

Are you related to Helinous?

Summary pls

helinues:
Summary pls

Human right na zero for our country...

lalasticlala, straight from US government