Amnesty International has issued a damning indictment of Nigerian authorities’ inaction one year after security forces violently suppressed #EndBadGovernance protests across northern Nigeria, leaving at least 24 demonstrators dead.
The human rights organization’s Friday statement paints a disturbing picture of state-sponsored violence and systemic impunity that continues to haunt the nation’s civic space.
The report documents how between August 1-10, 2024, Nigerian police opened fire at close range on peaceful protesters in Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Borno, Niger and Kaduna states, deliberately targeting heads and torsos in what appears to have been a shoot-to-kill policy. Survivors faced horrific abuse in detention, including underage protesters who reportedly collapsed in court from severe starvation and torture.
Despite the gravity of these violations, not a single security operative has faced prosecution for these extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses.
Amnesty’s findings reveal how the government has instead weaponized the legal system against protest victims. In Maiduguri, seven young demonstrators – including children as young as 14 – were convicted in sham trials, with adults receiving five-year prison sentences for allegedly forming a WhatsApp group to “take up arms against the government.”
Meanwhile, Abuja activists like Michael Adaramoye and Loveth Innocent continue to face politically-motivated charges including inciting mutiny and “levying war against the state” for their peaceful protest participation.
Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria Director, condemned the Tinubu administration’s “utter disregard for human rights,” stating that the violent crackdown and subsequent inaction demonstrate the government’s unwillingness to uphold its human rights obligations.
“Failing to hold the police to account only emboldens further abuses,” Sanusi warned. The organization has called for immediate prosecution of officers involved in the killings and torture, while demanding an end to the harassment of peaceful protesters.
Leave a comment