RULAAC Petitions NHRC To Probe Alleged Torture, Enforced Disappearances, Secret Detentions At Wawa Barracks
30th July, 2026 | News
RULAAC Urges NHRC to Probe Alleged Human Rights Abuses at Wawa Military Barracks
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to launch an urgent, independent investigation into allegations of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, and prolonged detention of civilians at the Wawa Military Barracks detention facility in Niger State.
In a petition dated July 29, 2026, and signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC said it had received numerous allegations from former detainees, families, lawyers, journalists, and civil society organisations claiming that civilians have been held at the facility for extended periods without charge or trial.
According to the organisation, reports suggest that those detained include terrorism suspects, individuals accused of links to IPOB, people arrested during security operations in the South-East, #EndSARS protesters, students, lawyers, and minors.
RULAAC cited allegations that detainees were blindfolded before arriving at the facility, held incommunicado, denied access to legal representation and family members, and kept in overcrowded conditions with inadequate food, poor sanitation, limited medical care, and alleged physical and psychological abuse. Some reports also claimed that deaths occurred in custody, leaving families unaware of the fate of their loved ones for years.
The advocacy group stressed that while the allegations remain unverified, their consistency and seriousness warrant an immediate fact-finding investigation by the NHRC. It also referenced public statements by human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who alleged that civilians were secretly detained at the facility without access to lawyers or independent observers.
RULAAC urged the Commission to carry out an unannounced inspection of the detention centre, verify the identities and legal status of civilian detainees, investigate claims of torture and deaths in custody, and ensure unrestricted access for lawyers, medical personnel, family members, and human rights organisations.
The organisation further called for the release of anyone found to be unlawfully detained and recommended that criminal or disciplinary action be taken against anyone found responsible for unlawful detention, torture, or enforced disappearance.
RULAAC maintained that although Nigeria’s armed forces have a constitutional duty to safeguard national security, such responsibilities must always be exercised within the bounds of the law and with full respect for fundamental human rights. It added that an independent investigation would strengthen public confidence in the justice system and reaffirm the rule of law.