Photo caption: Protesters during Day six of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. Credit: NAN.
Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has stated that over 1000 #EndBadGovernance protesters are currently in prison custody nationwide following the recent hunger protests.
The protests, which were held between August 1 and 10, turned violent in some parts of the country, with reports of looting and vandalism in several states.
On August 6, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced that the police had arrested some of the sponsors of rioters who hoisted foreign flags and called for a change of government in states such as Kano, Kaduna, and Zamfara, among others.
However, in a post via its X handle on Friday, the organisation accused the Nigerian authorities of escalating a crackdown on peaceful protesters by arraigning over 100 protesters in court.
It, therefore, reiterated its call for an immediate and unconditional release of all those arrested for exercising their right to peaceful assembly.
The post read, “The Nigerian authorities are escalating crackdown on peaceful protesters against hunger and corruption. Over 1,000 people have been remanded nationwide. Today 441 people were arraigned in Kano, in what is set out to be an unfair trial based on trumped-up charges.
“Amnesty International again calls for an immediate and unconditional release of all those arrested for exercising their right to peaceful assembly. The government of Nigeria has an obligation to uphold the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
