Probe alleged starvation of children protesters in detention, Amnesty tells FG
The Amnesty International has urged Nigerian authorities to transparently and effectively investigate alleged deliberate starvation of minors detained for 93 days for participating in the nationwide August 1-10 protest against hunger and corruption.
Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi in a press release, Tuesday, said their findings showed that the children were detained in a notorious police facility in Abuja, in deplorable condition, with apparent signs of deprivation of food and other basic needs, putting their physical and mental health at grave danger.
He said President Bola Tinubu must urgently investigate allegations of subjecting these children to ill-treatment that visibly show in their emaciation and sickness.
“The Nigerian authorities must drop the charges against them for participating in #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests and release them immediately and unconditionally, along with many other people who are facing separate criminal charges for their involvement in peaceful protests.
“The ill-treatments the minors were subjected to – solely for exercising the right to peaceful protest – exposes a deliberate strategy to crush the vibrant spirit of the country’s youth and stop them from demanding accountability, freedom and human rights.
“The detention of the children left them vulnerable and frightened, inflicting severe pain and anguish upon them and their families and leaving them with severe physical and mental scars.
“Nigeria has obligations to protect children from violations of their rights in the context of peaceful assembly and to facilitate their full enjoyment of these rights. “
By arresting and arraigning children for participating in peaceful protests the Nigerian authorities are clearly increasingly meting severe reprisals against children and their families for exercising the right to peaceful protest,” said Isa Sanusi
