A human rights lawyer, Ahmed Adetola-kazeem, has given the Nigerian Army a seven-day ultimatum to release and adequately compensate four underage boys allegedly arrested in Lagos on the suspicion of belonging to the Boko Haram fundamentalist sect.
In a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai, dated October 29, 2015, Adetola-Kazeem claimed that the minors, whose ages ranged between eight and 16, had been arrested and detained by the military since 2013 without trial.
He gave the names of the allegedly arrested minors and their ages as of time of arrest in 2013 as Ibrahim Yahaya, eight; Muhammad Abdullahi, 12; Ahmad Abdullahi, 16; and Haruna Zakariya, 18.
According to him, the boys were arrested “at their elder brother’s house on Ajibutu Street, Mafoluku, Lagos, when some military men came to arrest a man, who was suspected to be a member of the Boko Haram terrorist organisation.
“According to family members, they were arrested when the military men found out that they were northerners from Borno State.”
Adetola-Kazeem said he found out that the minors, since their arrest, were being transferred from one military facility to the other, and were moved from Dodan Barracks in Lagos to a military camp in Kotangora, Niger State, where they were being detained currently.
He, however, said the alleged detention of the minors, without access to a lawyer or their family member and without trial for about two and a half years was “a flagrant violation of the provisions of sections 34, 35, 36 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) particularly considering the fact that most of the boys are underage.”
He said, “Take note that if our clients are not released within seven days of receipt of this letter with adequate compensation, we shall be compelled to institute an action against you and the military authorities in court, wherein we shall be claiming heavy compensation on behalf of them against you and the Nigerian Army.”
In a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai, dated October 29, 2015, Adetola-Kazeem claimed that the minors, whose ages ranged between eight and 16, had been arrested and detained by the military since 2013 without trial.
He gave the names of the allegedly arrested minors and their ages as of time of arrest in 2013 as Ibrahim Yahaya, eight; Muhammad Abdullahi, 12; Ahmad Abdullahi, 16; and Haruna Zakariya, 18.
According to him, the boys were arrested “at their elder brother’s house on Ajibutu Street, Mafoluku, Lagos, when some military men came to arrest a man, who was suspected to be a member of the Boko Haram terrorist organisation.
“According to family members, they were arrested when the military men found out that they were northerners from Borno State.”
Adetola-Kazeem said he found out that the minors, since their arrest, were being transferred from one military facility to the other, and were moved from Dodan Barracks in Lagos to a military camp in Kotangora, Niger State, where they were being detained currently.
He, however, said the alleged detention of the minors, without access to a lawyer or their family member and without trial for about two and a half years was “a flagrant violation of the provisions of sections 34, 35, 36 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) particularly considering the fact that most of the boys are underage.”
He said, “Take note that if our clients are not released within seven days of receipt of this letter with adequate compensation, we shall be compelled to institute an action against you and the military authorities in court, wherein we shall be claiming heavy compensation on behalf of them against you and the Nigerian Army.”
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