Amnesty International has condemned the alleged killing of 13 protesters by security operatives across Nigeria, calling the act “unjustified and unacceptable.”.
Isa Sanusi, the Country Director, stated this in a statement on Friday.
“The Nigerian authorities must investigate these incidents impartially and effectively and ensure that security personnel suspected of responsibility for the alleged deadly use of force are held to account through a fair trial,” he said.
According to the organisation, the killings occurred in Suleja, Niger State, where six people were killed and dozens were seriously injured; Maiduguri, where four people were slain; and Kaduna, where three people were killed.
Amnesty International also expressed worries over the Nigerian authorities’ “growing hostility to dissent” and the “relentless repression of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”
“Our findings, so far, show that security personnel at the locations where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill while dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty,” the statement read.
The organisation urged the Nigerian government to take concrete steps to address the impact of recent reforms on economic, social, and cultural rights, including people’s rights to health and education.
“All those arrested for taking part in the protests must be released immediately and unconditionally. Authorities must also end the rampant violations of the people’s rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” Sanusi added.
In response to the allegation, the Niger State Police Command, in a statement released and made accessible by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, on Thursday, recognised the mayhem that broke out in Tafa Local Government Council Secretariat in the state where miscreants robbed, vandalised, and partially set fire to the structure, noting that vehicles were destroyed and burned, while security agents intervened, arrested, and dispersed the criminals.
According to Abiodun, no lives were lost during the process, and there was no report of such, as protesters were dispersed with minimal force, highlighting that some miscreants were mildly injured during the stampede, and the majority of them were taken to various nearby medical facilities for treatment.
