Amnesty International has condemned the treason charges brought against hunger protesters by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government, calling it a desperate move to manipulate the criminal justice system to punish critics.
One of the organisers of the protest, Omoyele Sowore, publisher of SaharaReporters, condemned it as a sham trial.
Sowore tweeted on Tuesday: “The sham trial of #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria activists has commenced as expected; the Federal Govt through the Attorney General Of the Federation, files bogus treason charges (without any iorta evidence) and gets a Federal judge to take the case; the judge sits and hears these lengthy, often repetitive charges, and knows that lawyers would ask for the ball but adjourns claiming he can’t accept bail applications orally. Innocent people are trucked to a nearby prison.
“And there commences adjournments upon adjournments, and the judge goes on vacation or he’s transferred.
“The case is sent to another Federal judge who commences the bogey “de novo” and before you know it 5 years of having no trial is gone.”
In a statement on Monday, the organisation criticised Tinubu’s government for targeting citizens who protested against endemic poverty and corruption with baseless charges.
“Some of the charges to be filed against the protesters, ranging from treason, which carries the death penalty, to allegations of ‘plans to destabilise Nigeria,’ show how far the Nigerian authorities can go in manipulating the criminal justice system to silence critical voices.
“These attempts by President Bola Tinubu’s government to charge those who protested widespread poverty and rampant corruption with treason are beyond absurd and baseless.”
According to the organisation, the Tinubu-led government wrongfully prioritised punishing protesters without addressing the urgent need to impartially investigate the killing of dozens of protesters across Kano, Katsina, Suleja/Tafa, Jigawa, and Maiduguri.
Ten #EndBadGovernance protesters in an Abuja court face charges of treason, a crime punishable by death under Nigerian law.
The six-count charge court document filed with number FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024 by Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun shows that Tinubu’s government has accused the protesters of felony and treason.
The first count in the document accuses the 10 protesters of “acting in concert and with intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspired together to commit felony to wit: Treason, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 96 and punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code.”
Other charges include public disturbance, plotting to overthrow the Tinubu-led government, and destabilising the country.
This follows about three weeks after citizen-led nationwide protests over economic hardship under Mr. Tinubu’s government.
The 10-day protests saw Nigerian security operatives unleash violence on protesters, killing at least 23 and arresting hundreds, according to Amnesty International.
The arrested protesters include: Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaluwa Eleojo Simon, Angel Love Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khamis and Abdulsalam Zubairu.
