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Amnesty Int’l accuses Buhari’s govt of suffocating freedom of expression

Published

8 years ago

September 29, 2016

Amnesty Int’l accuses Buhari’s govt of suffocate freedom of expression

Amnesty International has accused Nigerian security forces of suffocate freedom of expression through constant arrest and detention of journalists, bloggers and peaceful protesters.

According to Amnesty International, the continuing spate of arrests and detentions of journalists and bloggers in addition to security forces’ violent disruption of peaceful protests underscores how the Nigerian government appears determined to crush dissent and suffocate freedom of expression.

The group which stated this on Wednesday, called on the authorities to ensure the rights of Nigerians to freedom of non-violent assembly and freedom of expression, as guaranteed by international human rights law and even the Nigerian Constitution.

Makmid Kamara, Interim Country Director at Amnesty International, Nigeria said, “The escalation in the intimidation of journalists and bloggers over recent months seems to be little more than a barefaced attempt by the Nigerian government to muzzle dissenting voices in the country.

“Alongside the security forces’ violent assault on peaceful protesters, this crackdown constitutes a growing threat to human rights enshrined in international law and the Nigerian constitution.”

Some of the crackdown of peaceful protest Amnesty International accused Nigerian security forces of include the case of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), whose leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky, has been in police detention and deprived of trial since December 2015.

It also accused police of stopping the Bring Back Our Girls Movement protest march to Aso Rock Presidential Villa to demand that the government increase efforts to ensure Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram over two years ago were released and also, the several occasion unarmed supporters of Biafran independence came under attack by Nigerian security forces.

Amnesty International gave publisher Emenike Iroegbu, who was arrested in September over alleged defamation, Abubakar Usman, a prominent blogger arrested in August by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and much recently, Jamil Mabai, arrested for posting comments on Facebook and Twitter critical of the Katsina State government, as examples of suppression of freedom of expression by the security forces.

The case of Ahmed Salkida, a Nigerian journalist based in the United Arab Emirates, who was declared wanted by the military and later arrested by the State Security Services, is another case it also mentioned.

“Taken together, these are worrying signs of growing violations of the rights of people in Nigeria to peacefully assemble freely and express their views without the fear of being detained or harassed,” Kamara said.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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