Forty-four suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram terror group have died in mysterious circumstances in a prison in Chad.
Chad’s chief prosecutor, Youssouf Tom announced on national television on Saturday that the suspects were found dead in their cell on Thursday.
He explained that the suspects were among 58 suspects imprisoned following a recent Chadian Army operation in the Lake Chad region.
According to him, 40 of the dead persons were buried while four corpses were sent to a medical examiner for an autopsy.
“Following the fighting around Lake Chad, 58 members of Boko Haram had been taken prisoner and sent to Ndjamena for the purposes of the investigation.
“On Thursday morning, their jailers told us that 44 prisoners had been found dead in their cell,” Tom said.
“We have buried 40 bodies and sent four bodies to the medical examiner for autopsy,” he added.
The chief prosecutor explained that an autopsy carried out on the four corpses showed the presence of a lethal substance that had caused heart attacks in some of the victims and severe asphyxiation in the others.
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He added that an investigation was underway to determine exactly how the prisoners died.
According to an army spokesman, the operation which led to the capture of the insurgents held between March 31 and April 8.
At least a thousand Boko Haram members were said to have died while Chad lost 52 soldiers in the operation.
AFP, quoting Chad’s Justice Minister, Djimet Arabi, reported earlier this week that the 58 suspects were handed over to the court system on Wednesday in preparation for a court appearance on Thursday.