- #EndSARS Protesters Languishing In Jail Beg To Be Released
- Nigeria Yet To Learn From #EndSARS – Obi
- Changes That Followed #EndSARS Protests Fast Disappearing- Amnesty International
Three years after the #EndSARS took Nigeria by storm, the ghost of the deadly encounter still haunts the country.
On 8 October 2020, Nigerians took to the streets protesting atrocities by the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) which was a unit of the Nigeria Police established to fight violent crimes.
On 20 October 2020, at least 12 peaceful protesters were killed in Alausa and Lekki Lagos by security operatives while at least 56 people died across the country during the protests.
Victims include protesters and thugs who were allegedly hired by the authorities to confront the protesters. In many cases, the law enforcement and security forces had used excessive force in an attempt to control or stop the protests.
To mark the third anniversary of the protest, Amnesty International, a leading global human rights organization in a report lamented that Nigeria has continued to show disdain for human rights alleging that no fewer than 15 protesters are currently languishing in different correctional centres on trumped up charges.
The group alleged that despite consistent claims of carrying out comprehensive police reforms in the aftermath of #EndSARS protests, Nigeria’s police continue to routinely commit violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, harassment, arbitrary detention, and extortion with almost absolute impunity, said Amnesty International Nigeria.
AI in the report titled “Three years after #EndSARS at least 15 protesters languish in Lagos jail” bemoaned that any changes that followed the #EndSARS protests are fast disappearing, as police brutality is again becoming a daily part of life for people across Nigeria going by the rising number of extrajudicial killings, torture and human rights abuse perpetrated by the men in uniform.
“Three years after the violent suppression of nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality, at least fifteen protesters arrested in 2020 are still being arbitrarily detained – the majority of them without trial – in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre and Ikoyi Medium Security Correctional Centre in Lagos.
The Nigerian authorities have filed trumped-up charges including theft, arson, possession of unlawful firearms, and murder against many of the protesters. Some of those detained allege that they have been subjected to torture.
Our investigation shows the Nigerian authorities’ utter disdain for human rights. Three years in detention without trial is a travesty of justice. This shows the authorities’ contempt for due process of law. The protesters must be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Isa Sanusi Director Amnesty International Nigeria.
Seven #EndSARS protesters – Daniel Joy-Igbo, Sodiq Adigun, Sunday Okoro, Olumide Fatai, Oluwole Isa, Shehu Anas, and Akiniran Oyetakin – arrested in Lagos in 2020, are being arbitrarily held in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre.
Some of the detained protesters have been crying out to be released.
Daniel Joy-Igbo, a Beninois #EndSARS protester arrested in Lagos in October 2020, who has also been detained at the Bar Beach Police Station, the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, and at a SARS facility in Ikeja, told Amnesty International:
Since my arraignment in December 2020, I have been locked up in prison without trial. Since then, there has been no adjourned date for my case. I have not been taken to court since December 2020.
Sodiq Adigun, also arrested in October 2020, who was previously detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, told Amnesty International:
“Let the government release me. I have been detained since 2020 without trial. I am innocent. My life has been shattered. I need my liberty.”
Eight #EndSARS protesters – Segun Adeniyi, Onuorah Odih, Jeremiah Lucky, Gideon Ikwujomah, Irinyemi Olorunwanbe, Quadri Azeez, Olamide Lekan and Sadiq Riliwan – have been detained without trial in Ikoyi Medium Security Correctional Centre in Lagos since 2020.
“All those detained solely for taking part in peaceful #EndSARS protests must be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Isa Sanusi
Many peaceful #EndSARS protesters have been subjected to torture and other ill treatment while in detention since 2020. They include Oluwole Isa, currently held in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre, who told Amnesty International how he was tortured while in detention at the SARS facility in Ikeja:
“I was tied with a rope. They bent me backwards and tied my hands and legs together at my back. An iron rod was passed in-between my tied legs and hands. With the iron road, I was suspended on an iron bar. Then, they started beating me with a machete and wooden batons. They were forcing me to admit that I was involved in vandalism during the #EndSARS protests. When I could not bear the torture anymore, I told Inspector that I would confess. At that point, I was almost going to die. He brought me down; I still have the scar of the machete cut on my throat …”
Despite consistent claims of carrying out comprehensive police reforms in the aftermath of #EndSARS protests, Nigeria’s police continue to routinely commit violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, harassment, arbitrary detention, and extortion with almost absolute impunity, said Amnesty International Nigeria.
In the past year alone, Amnesty International has documented the unlawful killing of at least six people by law enforcement officers. These include 31-year-old Gafaru Buraimoh, who was killed in Lagos on 6 December 2022, and Onyeka Ibe, who was killed on 5 April 2023 in Delta state for refusing to pay N100 bribe. Other cases include Faiz Abdullahi, who died in police custody in Kaduna on 30 July 2023 following torture during interrogation, and 17-year-old student Abdullahi Tukur Abba, who died in hospital after allegedly being tortured in police custody in Yola Adamawa state on 5 August 2023.
Isa Sanusi Director of Amnesty International Nigeria urges Nigerian authorities to take concrete and effective measures to end police impunity, including by giving clear directives to the police not to violate human rights.
“Those suspected of violating human rights should be brought to justice in fair trials and without recourse to the death penalty. Genuine reforms must be initiated to end widespread human rights violations by the police. Nigeria has an obligation to ensure that torture and other ill-treatment are not carried out under any circumstances”.
Meanwhile, the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria has yet to learn from the 2020 #EndSARS protests.
“We remember their youthful yearnings for a better nation and their struggle for good governance. Unfortunately, our nation did not pick the appropriate lessons from the incident. Instead, we have continued to retrogress on many fronts,” Obi posted on his X account Friday.
He urged government at all levels to probe the continuous detention of those who were arrested three years ago.
“Today, we mark the third anniversary of the #EndSARS protests that swept through the nation. It is an occasion to remember our brothers and sisters who fell victim during the protests that swept through the nation in 2020.
“On this note, I wish to call on the necessary authorities, whether state or Federal Government, to investigate the issue of these continued detentions and take necessary actions towards correcting the implied injustices and ensure that no one continues to be denied freedom unlawfully.
“Our journey to a new and better nation will start with respect for our constitution and obedience to the rule of law. Our democracy must be founded on respect for the rights of every citizen,” the former Anambra State governor said.
He also consoled those who lost their lives during the protests and prayed to God to comfort their families.
“We will continue to struggle for a better nation where our youths will be productively engaged in many progressive ventures, where justice will reign, and obedience to the rule of law shall be sovereign. That is the New Nigeria that we dream of,” he added.
