- Safiu Kehinde
Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned the mass trial of #EndBadGovernance protesters across the nation.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Humanitarian group on its official X handle today.
As contained in the statement, the group called for an end to the bizarre attempt aimed at depriving people of the right to protest.
The trial, which is set to commence today, saw the protesters charged with alleged acts of terrorism, treason, and treasonable felonies, including arson and terrorism.
The statement read in part, “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 is beyond absurd and baseless.”