Amnesty International has condemned what it described as “the brutal assault by a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Gombe State on a serving councillor of Shamaki Ward, Abdulrahman Abubakar Sherif.”

The incident reportedly occurred on Monday at Science 2 Road, Federal Low-cost area of Gombe.

According to the human rights organisation, the councillor was attacked after he allegedly criticised the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Abubakar Inuwa Kari. The assault was said to have involved beating, hitting, and repeated slapping by the governor’s aide.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Friday, Amnesty International described the incident as outrageous and reflective of what it called growing impunity and repression by Gombe State government officials against individuals “who show even a slight political dissent.”

“Using violence to settle political scores is unacceptable in a free society. This culture of impunity, fostered by the Gombe State government, is suffocating the civic space and endangering lives.

“The governor’s aide and driver to the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Adamu Danko, was seen in the viral video repeatedly slapping and kicking the councillor, with threats of more violence, while the victim helplessly pleads with him to stop the beatings.

“The victim was subjected to this horrific treatment at the behest of the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Gombe State,” the organisation said.

Amnesty International further alleged that frequent attacks and intimidation by appointees and agents of the Gombe State government under Governor Inuwa Yahaya have created what it described as a toxic climate of fear across the state.

“This is unacceptable. It is perfectly within the rights of people to criticise any government official no matter his status. Governor Inuwa Yahaya must give a clear directive to his top appointees and other government officials not to punish critics and political opponents,” it stated.

The organisation urged Nigerian authorities to immediately investigate the incident and ensure that the governor’s aide is brought to justice through a fair trial.

According to Amnesty International, holding the governor’s aide accountable is critical to preventing those in positions of authority from continuing to use unlawful means to intimidate and silence critics and political opponents.

“In Nigeria, violent attacks, intimidation and threatening phone calls of critics and political opponents of state governors are escalating to all-time high.

We are deeply concerned by reports that persons in positions of authority and their agents are always behind these gross violations of human rights,” the organisation added.