Amnesty Advocates Release Of 40 #EndSARS Protesters Still In Prison

A human right group Amnesty International has advocated for the release of 40 protesters who partook in the #EndSARS protests two years ago and are still in prison.

Amnesty said the detained protesters were being held in various prisons across the country without any trial, adding that some of the protesters were being held down at agodi correctional centre in Oyo state while others are in kirikiri medium-security prison in Lagos.

Naija News gathered that the group’s Country Director, Osai Ojigho, who demand the immediate release of these protesters noted that they were being held down two years after the incident illegally.

It’s exactly two years after the deadly #EndSARS protest against police brutality and disbandment of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria police and bad governance.

In commemoration of the day, some activists are set to hold a memorial procession at the Lekki tollgate where innocent protesters were massacred two years ago.

An #EndSARS activist, Ayoyinka Oni, was reported to have said yesterday at a press briefing that the demonstration at the Lekki tollgate and other locations would be a peaceful one in honour of the dead, and to also fight and speak up for the living, and for a better Nigeria.

The group said, “Amnesty International has found that over 40 protesters are still languishing in prisons across Nigeria without trial. Oyewole Olumide, Rasheed Tiamiyu, Moruf Adekunle, Taoreed Abiodun, Ikenna Amechi, Afeez Ariyo, Ikechukwu Eze, and Adesina Ademuyiwa were among those arrested in Ibadan for participating in #EndSARS protests in October 2020.

“Despite reportedly suffering from ill health, they continue to be held without trial in Agodi Correctional Centre, having previously been detained at a SARS facility in Ibadan and Abolongo Prison in Oyo Town.

“Also 19 protesters were also being held without trial in kirikiri Medium Security Prison in Lagos since 2020.”

It further revealed the names of the detained protesters at kirikiri as Ayodeji Oluwasegun, Andoh Immanuel, Yakubu Olayiwola, Olaogun Ismail, Uba Chukwuma, Dosunmu Taiwo, Daniel Joy-Igbo, Yusuf Rafiu, Olawale Marcus and Muyiwa Onikoyi.

Others were Shehu Anas, Suleman Saidu, Rasheed Bolaji, Adigun Sodiq, Sunday Okoro, Akiniran Oyetakin, Ogidi Isah, Ibrahim Adesanya, and Faruk Abdulquadri.

Reacting to the detention of some protesters for two years now was human rights lawyer and activist, Inibehe Effiong, who condemned the government for its action saying no police officer has been punished either too.

‘’The federal and state governments are irresponsible; in most of the states, the #EndSARS report were not implemented, some states didn’t even come up with any report,’’ Effiong noted.