Amnesty International has berated the planned mass trial of scores of protesters arrested during the hunger and hardship protests across Nigeria.
This was contained in a statement by the Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, on Monday.
The statement criticised the Nigerian government’s handling of the situation, labelling the trials a blatant attempt to punish dissent and stifle critical voices.
Newspot recalls that the protests were held between August 1 to 10 2024.
“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,” Sanusi said.
He highlighted the severity of the charges brought against the protesters, including treason, which carries the death penalty, and accusations of a plan to destabilise Nigeria, describing the charges as blatantly trumped-up and demanded their immediate withdrawal.
The organization, therefore, called for an immediate end to what it described as endless bizarre attempts to deprive citizens of their right to peaceful protest.
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