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BY MUHAMMAD M. ALI, OCTOBER 25, 2025 | 04:00 PM
Ahmadu Gujja accuses the Nigerian military of falsely profiling him as a Boko Haram insurgent.
He demands compensation for his torture.
Gujja spoke at a press conference at Amada Hotel in Maiduguri.
He described his suffering in military detention at Giwa Barracks and Kainji Camp.
'We were starved,' Gujja said.
'We drank our urine.'
He went blind after more than a year in detention.
'They brought us out to see the sun; that was how my eye started painfully affecting me, and I subsequently lost my sight,' he added.
A HumAngle investigation found soldiers arbitrarily arrested Gujja with 41 other men from Gallari village in 2014.
The military ignored their claims that they were herders and farmers.
Soldiers took them to Giwa Barracks and later to Kainji Camp.
Only five of the men survived over ten years of detention.
Authorities released only three: Ahmadu Gujja and his two brothers, Mohammed and Hashim Garba, in April 2025.
Three other men died during the arrest process between Gallari village and Giwa Barrack.
There is no news of the remaining 36 men.
'We were forced to say we were Boko Haram,' Mr. Gujja said.
Authorities tried, pardoned, and rehabilitated the survivors in Gombe after a 2024 HumAngle investigation.
The survivors told journalists they lost everything, including their families.
'The one that is blind has children, and his late brother also has children,' the blind victim's mother said.
She said she struggles to feed the children due to her old age.
'We are staying in a field, not a house,' the mother said.
She stated the children need education and a means to start a business.
Amnesty International and civil society organization members attended the conference.
Amnesty International Country Director Isa Sunusi condemned the military's injustice and disregard for the law.
He alleged the military commonly practices wrongful profiling.
'This is a common thing. It happens. The government officials do force people to accept they are Boko Haram,' Sunusi said.
'We are going to take this issue very seriously. We are going to demand accountability from the military,' Mr. Sunusi added.
North East Civil Society Organization Chairman Ambassador Ahmed Shehu sympathized with the victims.
He pledged to secure support for them.
Shehu explained that the state government created a mechanism to support such victims.
He cited the launch of the Transitional Justice Framework in the Borno Model.
'The commissioner of justice in the state made the push,' Shehu said.
He noted that the framework is dedicated to helping families like the Garbas.
HumAngle Media Managing Director Hauwa Shafi thanked the guests for their attendance.
She said they contacted the Nigerian military for comment but are still awaiting a response.
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