Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned the commencement of mass trials of #EndBadGovernance protesters, set to begin today in Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna, citing concerns over the fairness and legitimacy of the process.
Security forces detained a significant number of demonstrators during the protests against hunger and hardship in August 2024, according to Persecondnews.
Human rights attorney Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) revealed that the 10-day nationwide protests resulted in the arrest of no fewer than 2,111 people.
Falana stated that insufficient legal representation has resulted in the arraignment and imprisonment of 1,403 of those arrested.
In a statement on its X platform on Monday, AI condemned their mass trial, saying: “Amnesty International condemns the sham trial of the protesters even before it began and calls for an end to these endless bizarre attempts to deprive people of the right to peaceful protest.”
“The unfair trial is only a disguised exercise solely aimed at punishing dissenters.
“Some of the charges to be filed against the protesters, ranging from treason, which carries the death penalty, and allegations of ‘plans to destabilize Nigeria,’ show how far the Nigerian authorities can go in manipulating the criminal justice system to silence critical voices.
“The Nigerian government has been wrongfully placing priority on punishing protesters without saying even a word on the urgent need to impartially investigate the killing of dozens of protesters across Kano, Katsina, Suleja/Tafa, Jigawa, and Maiduguri.
“These attempts by President Bola Tinubu’s government to charge those who protested widespread poverty and rampant corruption with treason are beyond absurd and baseless.”
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