International human rights organization, Amnesty International (AI) has accused President Bola Tinubu-led government of trying to kill the rights of citizens to engage in peaceful protest.
Amnesty International said the act of muzzling citizens from exercising their constitutional rights through punishing protesters by the government must stop.
In a statement on Monday, Amnesty International regretted that the federal government preferred punishing peaceful protesters to addressing the demands of the citizens.
“Amnesty International condemns the sham trial of the protesters even before it began, and calls for an end to these endless bizarre attempts to deprive people of the right to peaceful protest. The unfair trial is only a disguised exercise solely aimed at punishing dissenters.
“The Nigerian government has been wrongfully placing priority on punishing protesters, without saying even a word on the urgent need to impartially investigate the killing of dozens of protesters across Kano, Katsina, Suleja/Tafa, Jigawa and Maiduguri,” the international human rights group said on its X handle.
AI described the treason charge pressed on peaceful protesters as absurd and baseless.
“These attempts by President Bola Tinubu’s government to charge those who protested widespread poverty and rampant corruption with treason is beyond absurd and baseless,” the statement added.
