Nigeria: Police and Military Routinely Use Torture, Amnesty International Says
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Version 0 of 1. Nigeria’s police and military routinely torture women, men and children as young as 12 with beatings, shootings, rape, electric shocks and pliers used to pull out teeth and nails, the human rights group Amnesty International charged Thursday. Most of those detained are denied visits from family or lawyers, said the report, compiled from hundreds of testimonies and evidence gathered over 10 years. The group said that torture had become so institutionalized in Nigeria that many police stations have an informal position known as the “officer in charge of torture.” The police force denied the charges on Thursday. The police statement said that “the police force has significantly improved on its human rights records.” It said that the force would investigate Amnesty International’s allegations. The government has set up at least five presidential committees and working groups over the past 10 years to reform the criminal justice system and eradicate torture. But nothing else has been done, the group’s report said. |