Amnesty International Nigeria has said the planned mass trial of hundreds of protesters arrested during the nationwide #EndBadGovrnance protest is a mockery of justice and rule of law.
Mallam Isa Sanusi, Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, said this in a response to a Daily Trust request.
“Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the #EndBadGovernaceInNigeria protesters to be arraigned nationwide tomorrow are only going to be subjected to another round of government’s unrelenting intent to punish protesters and demonize protests.
“We condemn the sham trials even before they begain and call for an end to these endless bizarre attempts to deprive people of the right to peaceful protest. 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,” Sanusi said.
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He said the Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those arrested from August 1 to August 10 for exercising their right to peaceful assembly, instead of resorting to putting them through trumped-up charges just to justify unlawfully detaining them.
“The Nigerian government has been wrongfully placing priority on punishing detained protesters, without saying even a word on the urgent need to investigate the killing of dozens of protesters across Kano, Katsina, Suleja/Tafa, Jigawa and Maiduguri. Many protesters were subjected to many other violations by security personnel, including excessive use of force.
“Since the arrests of the protesters, Amnesty International has been receiving disturbing reports of violation of the rights of the detainees, through denial of access to family, legal assistance and medical care where needed. That dozens of minors are among those detained and possibly to face the sham trial tomorrow is a travesty of justice. We urge the Nigerian authorities to end this mockery of the rule of law,” Sanusi said.
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