Amnesty reports 13 protesters killed, seeks investigation

Amnesty International has condemned the alleged killing of 13 peaceful protesters by security personnel across the country, saying the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters is unjustified and unacceptable.

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.

The international human rights watchdog cited locations where protesters were killed, including 4 people in Maiduguri, Borno state; 3 people in Kaduna; 6 in Suleja, Niger state, and dozens severely wounded.

Nigerians took to the streets en masse to protest against bad governance and government anti-people policies on Thursday. In the buildup to the protest, the narrative of threats to peaceful assembly, hijacking, and violence already trended.

In what Amnesty International described as a fierce clampdown on peaceful protests by authorities and the harmful rhetoric by government officials ahead of the protests, what appears to be part of a wider plan to find justification for depriving people of the right to peaceful protest was further alleged.

“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.

“Particularly in Abuja, the police have routinely misused tear gas against largely peaceful protesters. The relentless repression of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly speaks to the Nigerian authorities’ growing hostility to dissent,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

The body urged the Nigerian government to pay more attention to taking concrete steps to address the impact of recent ‘reforms’ on economic, social, and cultural rights, including people’s rights to health and education.

Additionally, a call for the immediate and unconditional release of protesters arrested for taking part in the protests was advocated.

Amnesty International also called for an end to rights violations of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.