Many people do not know that some adherents of the Islamic Movement under the leadership of Sheikh Zakzaky are still being held in Wawa Barracks, New Bussa, Niger State, almost ten years after the December 2015 Zaria massacre.
In a disciplined investigation, I, Muhammad Attahiru, spoke to some sources and cross-checked information to uncover the truth. One of sixty former prisoners, who spent six years in Kuje Prison, revealed that numerous of Shiites arrested after the Zaria incident continue to be held in Wawa Barracks. They live under harsh conditions, with little food, poor medical care, no contact with their families, and no trial. Some have fallen gravely ill, and some have died.
During his imprisonment, he met a member of the Nigerian Army, who asked not to be named. This officer confirmed that many of those Muslim brethren (Shiites) who were arrested in 2015 are still held in secret detention of Wawa Barracks. Another prisoner, later transferred to Kuje on a Boko Haram case, had previously seen detainees in Islamic clothing, both young and old, brought from Zaria in 2015, who were later identified as followers of the Islamic Movement. He also observed that these followers were blindfolded when they were brought in, indicating the secretive and controlled nature of their detention.
During a meeting with families of martyrs who lost loved ones in the 2015 massacre, in 2022 after he was freed from six years of improvement, the leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Zakzaky confirmed that many followers remain in hidden detention since 2015 genocide.
According to Amnesty International, following the 12–14 December 2015 events in Zaria, more than 350 followers of the Islamic Movement were killed, and hundreds more remain missing. Amnesty visited one among the mass-graves of which bodies were secretly buried; the mass-grave site near Mando, outside Zaria, and concluded that:
“Many families still do not know the fate of their loved ones who have not been seen or heard of since December 12, 2015.” (Amnesty International)
According to findings published by HumAngle, many members of the Islamic Movement who disappeared after the 2015 Zaria massacre are among those secretly detained in military facilities such as Wawa Barracks. The platform, known for its conflict and human-rights investigations, confirmed that hundreds of civilians, including followers of the Islamic Movement, have spent years in these secret cells without trial or contact with their families. HumAngle’s missing-persons database lists several individuals last seen in Zaria in December 2015, believed to have been transferred to Wawa and other hidden sites. Their reports describe overcrowded conditions, poor food, and lack of medical care, showing that some detainees have died while others remain unaccounted for.
These people continue to suffer in silence. They are hungry, sick, dying, and forgotten, while the public remains unaware of their situation.
In November 2025, Nigerian human-rights activist and journalist Omoyele Sowore revealed that Wawa Barracks remains a “hidden horror” where “hundreds are held incommunicado” and subjected to secret trials. According to Sowore, detainees there are denied legal counsel, medical access, and visits from their families. He alleged that federal judges are sometimes flown into the facility to preside over closed-door sessions; a practice he described as “continuing the Buhari-era secret genocide detention” under the Tinubu administration.
(Source: Sahara Reporters, Nov 9 2025)
Sowore’s revelation adds a powerful confirmation to the testimonies of former detainees who said that members of the Islamic Movement remain unlawfully detained in Wawa Barracks nearly ten years after their arrest.
A recent report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety) identified Wawa Barracks among Nigeria’s secret military detention centers. The group estimated that no fewer than 6,000 civilian detainees — including political prisoners and religious activists, may still be held without trial across such facilities. The report describes a pattern of prolonged detentions, lack of due process, and denial of family contact.
(Source: Intersociety Human Rights Made in Nigeria Report, Dec 2024)
There is an urgent need for openness and truth. Independent investigation and public accountability are needed to find out what really happened to those arrested after the 2015 Zaria massacre, and to ensure justice for the victims and their families.
Human rights defenders, journalists, and the Nigerian public must raise their voices. Justice delayed is justice denied. The truth about those still held in Wawa Barracks must not remain hidden.
🎥 Note to the public: The short video clip below is part of a previous investigative report by HumAngle about the situation inside Wawa Barracks, providing some evidence that support the facts mentioned above.
— Muhammad Attahiru
Investigative Journalist | ABS Radio English🎙️
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