Amnesty International has criticized the bail conditions granted to the 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters facing treason charges.
On Wednesday, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted N10 million bail to each of the ten members, stating that they must produce sureties who are property owners in Abuja and must deposit documents of the properties with the court.
Shortly after the ruling, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, expressed concern over the weaponization of such stringent requirements.
“Amnesty International observes with grave concern the Nigerian authorities’ wanton weaponization of stringent bail conditions to justify arbitrary detentions and excessively restrict activists’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly,” he said.
According to Sanusi, the ten #EndBadGovernance protesters and other protesters arbitrarily detained in various prisons across Nigeria for peacefully protesting corruption and deep poverty between August 1-10 should not have been detained in the first place.
“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.
