Amnesty International has urged Nigerian authorities to immediately investigate the alleged torture and death of a 16-year-old boy, Bishir Malam Dauda, while in police custody in Katsina State.
The human rights organization accused officers attached to the Yankara police outpost in Faskari Local Government Area of allegedly torturing the teenager to death after arresting him over the reported theft of a bag of soya beans.
In a statement published on its official Facebook page on Saturday, Amnesty International said its findings indicated that Bishir was arrested on May 7, 2026, after one of his friends allegedly mentioned his name during a police investigation into the reported theft.
According to the organization, the teenager was picked up from his Tsangaya school before being taken into custody.
Amnesty alleged that Bishir was severely beaten with iron rods while officers attempted to force him to confess to the alleged crime.
“Unaccompanied and without the presence of any adult relation, Bishir was tied by the police and asked to make a confession. He refused. Then he was tortured more until he became lifeless,” the organization stated.
The rights group further claimed that police officers later deposited the teenager’s body at the Yankara Primary Healthcare Centre after he allegedly died in custody.
Amnesty International described the incident as another example of what it called a recurring pattern of police abuse, torture, and extortion targeting Nigerians accused of crimes.
“What happened to Bishir Malam Dauda exposes a pattern of ruthless human rights violations in which victims are arrested and tortured until they either make a ‘confession’ or pay officers a bribe to be released,” the statement said.
The organization accused members of the police force of operating with impunity and creating fear among citizens instead of providing protection.
“Nigeria Police, which was created to protect the people has instead become a danger to society, torturing its victims with complete impunity while fomenting a toxic climate of fear and corruption,” Amnesty added.
The group demanded that all officers allegedly linked to the incident, directly or indirectly, be identified and prosecuted, insisting the matter should not be ignored or covered up.
“This incident must not be swept under the carpet. Police officers involved in this atrocity, directly and indirectly, must be held to account,” the statement said.
Amnesty International also noted that its research over the years has repeatedly documented cases involving torture, unlawful detention, and brutality allegedly committed by members of the Nigeria Police Force against suspects and ordinary citizens.
