Amnesty International has expressed its disapproval of the Federal High Court in Abuja for enforcing what it termed “punitive” bail conditions on the ten #EndBadGovernance protesters who are facing treason charges.
Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a ruling granting bail to ten #EndBadGovernance protesters detained on treason charges.
Each defendant was granted bail set at ?10 million, along with the requirement of one surety in the same amount.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite emphasized the presumption of innocence, asserting that anyone charged with a criminal offence is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
He acknowledged the arguments presented by the defence counsel, particularly Abubakar Marshall, representing the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants.
Despite the severe nature of the charges, Justice Nwite decided to grant bail to all ten defendants, stating, “I have carefully considered the submission of the counsel on both divides. I hereby grant the defendant bail, notwithstanding the crime.
“The bail is hereby granted to the defendant applicant in the sum of ?10 million each and one surety in like some.”
However, in a series of posts via its official X handle, Amnesty International drew attention to the harsh bail requirements stipulating a N10 million bond for each individual and the necessity of providing sureties with real estate.
“The bail conditions are clearly punitive,” Amnesty International tweeted, expressing concern over the weaponization of such stringent requirements.
The rights group further called on Nigerian authorities to stop using restrictive bail conditions to arbitrarily detain activists and stifle their right to peaceful assembly.
“The Nigerian Authorities must end the wanton weaponization of stringent bail conditions to justify arbitrary detentions and excessively restrict activists’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly,” the international organization noted.
