Soldiers Allegedly Murder 16 men arrested on suspicion of being Boko haram members

Group of alleged boko haram members(not those reported in this story) arrested by the army

 

16 men arrested by soldiers in Potiskum, Yobe,  Wednesday, were found dead just hours later with bullet wounds, community leaders said on Thursday, demanding an inquiry.

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, AFP reports.

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 identified because he 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, he told AFP.

One resident, Tukur Danu, said the cleric was not among the dead and added: “We are worried about what they could do to him.”

Potiskum is the commercial hub of Yobe State, which with neighbouring Borno and Adamawa State had been under emergency rule since May last year because of the Boko Haram insurgency.

On Monday, at least 15 people were killed and some 50 others injured in a suicide bombing targeting a major Shia Muslim festival in Potiskum.

The head of the Shia community in the city, Mustapha Lawan Nasidi, said at the time that several other people died when troops deployed to the scene opened fire on the people.

Community leaders believed 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 murder,” 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 members because they were Kanuris.”

All those seized were related either by blood or marriage, according to another leader.

“The government should look into this cold-blooded murder and ensure justice is done ‎because being a soldier is not a licence to kill at will on mere suspicion,” he added.
Source: http://www.ereporter.com.ng/index.php/national-news/item/1103-soldiers-allegedly-murder-16-men-arrested-on-suspicion-of-being-boko-haram-members