Amnesty International Condemns Deliberate Attacks On Peaceful Protesters In Abuja
By Sunday Etuka
Amnesty International has strongly condemned what it described as the reckless and deliberate attacks on peaceful protesters during a Democracy Day protest at Unity Fountain in Abuja.
It disclosed that during the attacks on Friday, human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore collapsed and was subsequently taken to a hospital.
Sowore had accused the operatives of the Nigeria Police Force of deploying a strange gas at the protest ground which led to his eventual collapse. The incident he described as the increasingly dangerous tactics being used to suppress dissent and intimidate citizens exercising their constitutional rights.
“Today, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force deployed a strange gas at the protest ground, at close range which entered my lungs and left me struggling to breathe before I eventually collapsed,” he said.
He alleged that the objective of the President Bola Tinubu-led regime was to silence, destroy, and crush all opposition through fear and force. “We shall never succumb to any of his worn out tactics. We will keep going until we achieve liberation,” he declared.
“The deliberate targeting of Sowore must be investigated,” Amnesty International said, adding that such targeting of activists solely for exercising freedom of assembly is unlawful and shows utter disregard for the rule of law.”
It also alleged that the Nigerian authorities are clearly using violence to crackdown on human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“President Tinubu’s government has failed to demonstrate commitment to upholding the country’s constitution and its international human rights obligations that allow people to freely exercise their human rights including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” it said.
