On Saturday April 18, it was discovered that 44 suspected members of Boko Haram were found dead in a prison in Chad’s capital city of N’Djamena.
Autopsies carried out on the deceased suspects revealed that they had ingested a substance leading to heart and breathing complications, according to the Chadian government.
Yousssouf Tom, Chad’s chief prosecutor, confirmed the deaths during a national television broadcast. He indicated that the suspects had been apprehended during a recent operation against Boko Haram near Lake Chad.
“Following the fighting around Lake Chad, 58 members of Boko Haram had been taken prisoner and sent to Ndjamena for the purposes of the investigation. On Thursday morning, their jailers told us that 44 prisoners had been found dead in their cell. We have buried 40 bodies and sent four bodies to the medical examiner for autopsy.”
A security source, speaking anonymously, contradicted the government’s statement, alleging that the prisoners were starved.
“The 58 prisoners were placed in a single cell and were given nothing to eat or drink for two days,” the source told AFP.
Mahamat Nour Ahmed Ibedou, secretary general of the Chadian Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (CTDDH), made similar accusations, claiming, “Prison officials had locked the prisoners in a small cell and refusing them food and water for three days because they were accused of belonging to Boko Haram. It’s horrible what has happened.”
Chad’s Justice Minister, Djimet Arabi, denied the allegations, stating, “There was no ill-treatment. Toxic substances were found in their stomachs. Was it collective suicide or something else? We’re still looking for answers and investigation is still ongoing.”
It is worth noting that the Chadian army conducted an offensive between March 31 and April 8 near Lake Chad in response to a significant attack on an army base near the lake, which resulted in the death of 100 soldiers. At least 52 soldiers and 1,000 jihadists were killed in the counter-operation.