By Abdullahi Yusuf
Amnesty International says no fewer than 24 protesters were killed during the EndBadGovernance protests which occurred between August 1 and August 10,2024.
The figures were disclosed by the organization while launching its report on the protests at a press conference addressed by its Country Director, Isa Sanusi, in Kano on Thursday.
Sanusi said the killings took place in Kano, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa and Niger States, while the protests lasted.
Those killed during the uprising,he said, included 20 young people, an elderly person and two children, alleging that the police used excessive force against the protesters.
“In all cases, the victims were shot by the police, firing live ammunition at close range,often at the head or torso, suggesting that officers were shooting to kill.
“Two survivors suffered injuries after being shot by the police in the arm and legs, others were suffocated by the indiscriminate use of tear gas,” the country director further alleged.
He said Eyewitnesses told Amnesty International in Kano, Dutse, Katsina and Minna that the protests were largely peaceful when they began in the morning of August 1, but that the mood abruptly changed when police allegedly attacked the protesters by firing live ammunition and tear gas.
“The excessive use of force by the police against the protesters contravenes International Human Rights Standards, including the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
“Those who expressed support for the protests on social media were attacked and many more were arbitrarily arrested either by the police or the Department of State Services (DSS),” the organization alleged.
It said despite the overwhelming evidences, including eyewitness accounts, videos, medical records, testimonies of the parents of victims and survivors and photographs, the police denied involvement in the killings, dismissing them as “fake news” and attributed them to “unknown gunmen.”
“As international human rights standards make it clear in the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but non-violent, law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, where that it is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent necessary,” it added.