AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, SERAP CALLS FOR RELEASE OF 76 #EndBadGovernance PROTESTERS
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Amnesty International Nigeria and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have denounced the continued detention of children who participated in the August #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria demonstrations.
Nigerian youth protested in the streets in August 2024 over the current administration’s mismanagement, starvation, and sufferings. 76 people were arraigned in court today after numerous people were taken into custody by Nigerian security forces.
One of the group’s minors passed out at the Federal High Court in Abuja during the proceedings.
SERAP responded by condemning the detention on its official X platform (previously Twitter) and urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to free the demonstrators and drop any “treasonable felony” allegations against them.
The Tinubu administration must unconditionally free the 76 #EndBadGovernance demonstrators and remove all “treasonable felony” accusations against them, according to SERAP, or else legal action would be taken. Nobody should ever face consequences for exercising their human rights in a peaceful manner.
The group denounced the government’s activities as an effort to engender fear, avoid scrutiny, deprive individuals of their basic rights, and solidify Nigeria’s impunity culture. They went on to say, “Nigeria deserves better than this.”
Amnesty International also condemned the arrest and custody of these children and backed SERAP. The group stressed the need to respect constitutional and internationally mandated human rights, such as the freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly, and urged the Nigerian federal government to free all those in custody.
“Amnesty International condemns President Bola Tinubu’s government for the continued detention of minors who participated in the August #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests. The attempts to subject these minors to a sham trial over alleged ‘treason’ demonstrate the government’s utter disregard for the rule of law. Authorities must release them immediately and unconditionally,” they stated.
Furthermore, Amnesty International highlighted the troubling situation of children in detention, noting that “in Katsina, at least 12 children under 16 years old were detained merely for being on the streets during the #EndBadGovernance protests. These children, with their entire lives ahead of them, are now at risk of being tried on fabricated charges.”
The group warned that Nigerian authorities are intensifying their efforts to deny people their right to peaceful protest through appalling detentions and sham trials, pointing out that another group of forty-three protesters is facing similar treason charges in the same Federal High Court in Abuja.
“The unlawful detention of these minors, subjecting them to traumatic experiences for exercising their right to peaceful protest, is unacceptable. The government must release all of them immediately and unconditionally.”
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