Nov 5 (Reuters) - Nigeria launched a crackdown on informal
Islamic schools and rehabilitation centres in late September
after a man was refused permission to see his nephews at one
institution and complained to police. Nearly 1,500 people have
been freed so far.
Nigeria group Muslim Rights Concern estimates about 10
million children attend Islamic institutions in the West African
country, which has a mainly Christian, relatively prosperous,
south and a largely Muslim north with higher levels of child
mortality and malnutrition.
Below is a timeline of events since the crackdown started:
Sept. 26, 2019 - More than 300 boys and men, some as young
as five, were rescued in a raid on a building that purported to
be an Islamic school in northwestern Nigeria's Kaduna city. Many
were in chains and bore scars from beatings. Some had been there
for years. 14, 2019 - Police rescued 67 men and boys aged seven to
40 from an Islamic school in the town of Daura in northwestern
Katsina state, where the captives had been shackled. Former
students said instructors had beaten and raped inmates.
Oct. 16, 2019 - Police freed about 500 men and boys, many of
whom had been chained to walls, molested and beaten, from an
Islamic school in the northwestern city of Katsina in its
eponymous state, law enforcement sources said. 19, 2019 - Police freed nearly 150 students from a
reformatory school Kaduna. At least 22 of the 147 released
captives were female. Many of those freed had scars from abuse.
24, 2019 - Police rescued 108 malnourished and sick
captives aged from six to 45 from a so-called Islamic reform
centre in Ilorin in central Nigeria's Kwara state.
Nov. 4, 2019 - Nigerian police released 259 people held
captive at an Islamic rehabilitation centre in the southwestern
city of Ibadan, saying some had been chained. (Editing by David Clarke)