Protests: Amnesty International Condemns Arrest Of Critical Voices, Demands Immediate Release Of Bashir Abubakar, Junaidu Abdullahi

Amnesty International has condemned the unlawful arrest of Bashir Abubakar for advertising ‘End Bad Governance in Nigeria’ t-shirts in #Kano.

“We urge the Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him. People’s right to freedom of expression must be respected”, Amnesty International asserted in a post on its X handle on Sunday evening.

Further, in another post, it stated that the Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release social media activist Junaidu Abdullahi (Abusalma)  who was sent to Kano prison for posting a viral Tik Tok video calling for mass peaceful protest over widespread hunger across the country. FreeAbusalma

Junaidu Abdullahi

According to Amnesty International, “Hurriedly getting a court to send him to prison and adjourning the case till the next three weeks shows the Nigerian authorities clear intention of punishing Abusalma for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

“Arresting critical voices should not be the priority of the Nigerian authorities at a time millions of people are on the brink of starvation, widespread malnutrition and deep poverty.

“In February, the Nigerian authorities unlawfully arrested; Aisha Jibrin, Fatima Aliyu, Fatima Isyaku and twenty-two others in Minna Niger state; for participating in protest against the staggering cost of living crisis people are facing nationwide.

“Also in February, Kano state police command unlawfully arrested Fatima Auwal, the leader of the women local bread (Gurasa) bakers — protesting unbearable hike in the price of flour, which is the ingredient used in the production of the local bread.

“Nigeria’s current economic chaos came with unprecedented inflation that triggers high cost of food, medicine and hike in electricity tariff and tuition fees of public universities. These are placing undue stress on families, businesses, and communities.”