Spiraling violence

Boko Haram, an armed Islamic group whose professed aim is to rid Nigeria of its corrupt and abusive government and institute what it describes as religious purity, has committed horrific crimes across northern and central Nigeria. Since 2009, suspected members of the group have killed at least 1,500 people, including police officers and other government security agents, Christians, and Muslims who cooperate with government authorities. In the name of ending the group's threat to the country's citizens, government security forces have killed hundreds of Boko Haram suspects and random members of communities where attacks have occurred. Clashes between the group and security personnel, and extra-judicial killings by the police and military, have raised the death toll of those killed by Boko Haram and the security forces to more than 2,800 people since 2009. Meanwhile, hundreds of people have been arrested across the north, many of them detained incommunicado without charge or trial for months or even years. Based on field research in Nigeria in July 2010 and in May and July 2012, and the continuous monitoring of media reports of Boko Haram attacks and statements, Spiraling Violence explores the crimes committed by the Islamic group and sheds light on the underreported role of Nigeria's security forces, whose actions in response to the violence have contravened international human rights standards and fueled further attacks. Human Rights Watch's research suggests that crimes against humanity may have been committed both by state agents and members of Boko Haram. Nigeria's government has a responsibility to protect its citizens from violence but also to respect international human rights law related to the use of force by its security forces, the treatment of detainees, the prohibition of torture, and due process standards. Nigerian authorities should prosecute without delay the perpetrators of crimes, whether members of Boko Haram or government security forces, and take meaningful measures to address corruption, poverty, and other underlying factors that have created a fertile ground for violent militancy in Nigeria"--P. [4] of cover.