Amnesty International revealed that 1,000 people, mostly suspected Islamist militants, died in Nigerian jails in the first half of this year.

CEOAFRICA news desk gathered that from the amnesty report that some out of 950 victims were suspected to have been executed but many died because of the harsh, overcrowded conditions of the jails while the rest were starved to death, beaten death and lack of medical care.

“The evidence we’ve gathered suggested that hundreds of people died in military custody in 2013 alone. This is a staggeringly high figure that requires urgent action by the Nigerian government,” Reuters quoted Lucy Freeman, Amnesty International’s deputy Africa director, as saying in a statement.

Military spokesman, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, said the army had not yet seen the report but would respond when it became available to them, also stressing that the government’s habitual position is that detainees are well treated and rare cases of abuse dealt with.

Residents of affected areas, as well as numerous human rights groups, have long accused the Nigerian military of carrying out summary executions of Boko Haram suspects and others – a charge it always denies.

Privately, security officials admit such abuses are more widespread but see them as a reaction to an enemy whose vicious guerrilla tactics create a climate of fear.