Amnesty International has condemned the deliberate mass trial of lots of of protesters arrested throughout the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests held between August 1 to 10, 2024.
In a press release issued on Monday, the Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, criticised the Nigerian authorities’s dealing with of the state of affairs, labelling the trials a blatant try to punish dissent and stifle crucial voices.
“Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters arraigned nationwide today are only going to be subjected to another round of the government’s unrelenting efforts to punish protesters and demonise protests,” stated Sanusi.
Sanusi additional highlighted the severity of the fees being introduced towards the protesters, together with treason, which carries the demise penalty, and accusations of a “plan to destabilise Nigeria.”
He described these prices as “blatantly trumped-up” and demanded their rapid withdrawal.
“These are blatantly trumped-up charges that must be immediately withdrawn,” he asserted.
Amnesty International faulted the character of the trials, condemning them as a sham even earlier than that they had begun.
The organisation known as for a right away finish to what it described as “endless bizarre attempts” to deprive residents of their proper to peaceable protest.
“We condemn the sham trials even before they begin and call for an end to these endless bizarre attempts to deprive people of the right to peaceful protest,” Sanusi acknowledged.
“What is going to happen to these protesters—who took to the streets last month seeking good governance—is a disguised exercise solely aimed at punishing dissenters,” he added.
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The rights group additionally urged the Nigerian authorities to launch all these detained throughout the protests, emphasising that their proper to peaceable meeting must be protected slightly than criminalised.
“The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those arrested from 1 to 10 August for exercising their right to peaceful assembly, instead of resorting to putting them through an unfair trial just to unlawfully justify detaining them,” Sanusi demanded.
Amnesty International additionally criticised the federal government’s failure to deal with the violent crackdown on protesters in numerous areas, the place dozens had been killed and lots of others subjected to extreme violations by safety forces.
“The Nigerian government has been wrongfully prioritising the punishment of protesters, without even addressing the urgent need to investigate the killing of dozens of protesters across Kano, Katsina, Suleja/Tafa, Jigawa, and Maiduguri,” Sanusi remarked, including that many protesters had confronted “other horrific violations by security personnel, including excessive use of force and misuse of tear gas.”
He highlighted the continuing human rights violations confronted by the detained protesters, together with denial of entry to household, authorized help, and medical care.
“Since the arrests of the protesters, Amnesty International has been receiving disturbing reports of the violation of the rights of those detained, including denial of access to family, legal assistance, and medical care where needed,” stated Sanusi.
The organisation urged the Nigerian authorities to uphold the rule of legislation and deal with addressing the nation’s urgent points, corresponding to insecurity, corruption, and widespread poverty.
“We urge the Nigerian authorities to end this mockery of the rule of law. The authorities must uphold and protect fundamental human rights,” Sanusi emphasised.
“Instead of investing in desperate attempts to punish dissent, the government should listen to critics and address rampant insecurity, corruption, and mismanagement. Giving more attention to rescuing millions of Nigerians from the brink of starvation should be the top priority of the government, not punishing protesters,” he added.