A group of 44 suspected members of Boko Haram have been found dead in prison, reports have shown.

The Boko Haram members were arrested during a recent operation against the terrorist group and were found dead in their prison cell, Chad’s chief prosecutor announced Saturday.

According to the Agence France Presse, AFP, Youssouf Tom, while speaking on national television, said the 44 prisoners had been found dead in their cell on Thursday. They were among a group of 58 suspects jailed during a recent army operation in the Lake Chad zone, he added.

“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,” he said.

“On Thursday morning, their jailers told us that 44 prisoners had been found dead in their cell,” Tom said, adding that he had attended the scene.

An investigation was ongoing to determine how the prisoners had died, he said. “We have buried 40 bodies and sent four bodies to the medical examiner for autopsy.”