Olusegun Ariyo
Amnesty International has condemned the bail conditions granted to the 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters facing treason charges.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday granted N10 million bail on each to the ten members, saying they must produce sureties who must be property owners in Abuja and must deposit documents of the properties to the court.
Shortly after the ruling, the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, expressed worry over what he described as the weaponization of such stringent requirements.
He said the ten #EndBadGovernance protesters and other protesters arbitrarily detained in various prisons across Nigeria for peacefully protesting corruption and deep poverty between 1-10 August should not have been detained in the first place.
“Amnesty International observes with grave concern the Nigerian Authorities’ wanton weaponization of stringent bail conditions to justify arbitrary detentions and to excessively restrict activists’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly,” he said.
“The Nigerian authorities must uphold their international human rights obligations by protecting and facilitating the right to peaceful assembly.
“The heavy-handed clampdown and witch-hunt of human rights defenders, journalists, whistleblowers, and activists must end,” he stated.
