Nigerian Soldiers Accused Of Killing 16Innocent Men In Yobe

Nigerian soldiers in Yobe, northern Nigeria,
have been accused of killing sixteen men they
arrested for suspicion of being the members of
the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
According to community leaders in Dogo Tebo
area of Potiskum in Yobe state, the victims
were found dead at the Potiskum General
Hospital in Yobe just hours after they were
arrested by the soldiers.
It was gathered that when the corpses of the
16 men were looked at in the hospital morgue,
bullet wounds were seen on their bodies.
Hence, community leaders on Thursday
demanded an inquiry into the matter.
Investigation carried out by AFP revealed that
the troops rounded up 17 people, including an
imam, from the Dogo Tebo area of Potiskum
as they left a mosque after morning prayers
on Wednesday.
Residents and hospital staff said the bodies of
all but the imam were later found in the
morgue at the Potiskum General Hospital.
“All the bodies have gunshot wounds on
them,” said a nurse, who asked not to be
named because the person was not
authorised to speak to the media.
The bodies had been brought in by
soldiers and were formally identified by
community leaders and residents from
Dogo Tegbo, the nurse said.
One resident, Tukur Danu, said the cleric
was not among the dead and added: “We
are worried about what they could do to
him.”
Community leaders are now claiming that the
16 men were picked up and killed because all
of them were from the Kanuri ethnic group
that forms the bulk of Boko Haram’s
membership.
“We demand a probe into this
unjustifiable m****r,” said one community
leader in Dogo Tebo, who asked not to be
identified for his personal safety.
“We believe they were killed on suspicion
of being Boko Haram because they were
Kanuris.”
Another leader informed that all the victims
were related either by blood or marriage.
“The government should look into this
cold-blooded m****r and ensure justice is
done because being a soldier is not a
licence to kill at will on mere suspicion.
“Our fear is we don’t know what they will
do next,” he said, adding that three more
people were arrested late on Wednesday
in the same area.
Potiskum is the commercial hub of Yobe state,
which with neighbouring Borno and Adamawa
states has been under emergency rule since
May last year because of the Boko Haram
insurgency.