Prisons overcrowded with Boko Haram suspects

Cameroon officials say prisons are overcrowded with suspected Islamic extremists whose insurgency has spilled from Nigeria.

Maroua Central Prison registrar Ngeh Emmanuel said Thursday that 30,000 people have been detained in 25 prisons in Cameroon since May 2014. He says that number is up from 22,000 detained before.


Emmanuel says that more soldiers are needed to stop inmates from endless attempts to break out of jail.


Cameroon Human Rights commission chairperson Che Mutta Divine Banda says prisons are crammed with six times more people than their capacity allows.

Neighboring countries increasingly have been drawn into Nigeria’s 5-year Islamic uprising, which has killed thousands and driven 1.6 million people from their homes, including across borders into Cameroon, Niger and Chad.


Boko Haram has been recruiting fighters in all three countries.