Amnesty International has revealed that three years after the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria, a significant number of protesters remain arbitrarily detained, with most of them held at Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre and Ikoyi Medium Security Correctional Centre in Lagos, awaiting trial.
On the third anniversary of the protests, the international non-governmental organization disclosed that fifteen protesters arrested in 2020 still languish behind bars without a fair legal process.
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Amnesty International releases statement on EndSARS victims. Photo: Premium Times[/caption]
The detainees have faced baseless charges, including theft, arson, unlawful firearm possession, and even murder, as alleged by Nigerian authorities.
Some of those imprisoned have reported incidents of torture during their captivity.
Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, expressed deep concern and said:
"Our investigation reveals a blatant disregard for human rights by the Nigerian authorities. Detaining individuals for three years without a trial is a miscarriage of justice and reflects a clear contempt for due process. These protesters must be released immediately and unconditionally."
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, Amnesty International said via
Channels TV.
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 the 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
The
Amnesty International report added that 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 the 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."
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