Global rights
group, Amnesty International, has slammed the Federal Government for arresting
Nastura Sharif, a man who organised a series of protests against the tenure of
President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Spokesman for
Amnesty, Isa Sanusi, said in a text message sent to newsmen that the government
must immediately release Sharif who is the chairman of the board of trustees of
the Coalition of Northern Groups.
Sanusi wrote,
“Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Nastura
Ashir Sharif who has done nothing more than speak up in defence of people’s
right to life and calling for an end of the rising insecurity across northern
Nigeria.
“He was simply
asking the authorities to do their job. His arrest appears to be an attempt to
intimidate and harass both him and others peacefully exercising freedom of
assembly and expression.
Protest is not a
crime, it is a right. Subjecting activists to such arbitrary arrest is a
violation of Nigerian and international human rights laws.”
The protesters led
by Sharif had called for the resignation of Governor Aminu Masari who had
admitted that the security situation had overwhelmed his government.
In a statement on
Wednesday, the Director of Operations for the protest group, Aminu Adam, said
the police arrested Sharif after “the peaceful protests”.
He explained that
after the protests, the Katsina State Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba,
invited leaders of the group for an interactive session.
Adam said five
members of the group, including himself and Sharif, had honoured the police
invitation after which the group’s leader was detained.
The statement read
in part, “The commissioner handed us to a team of policemen, headed by the
officer in charge, Force Intelligence Bureau, who led us to Abuja.
We drove from
Katsina to Abuja with the police team in a white bus and a hilux.
“However, on
getting to force headquarters in Abuja, they told us that Sharif is under
arrest for the protest and they put him in detention.”
Force Public
Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said he was not aware of the arrest when he was
contacted by our correspondent on Wednesday.
The Presidency had
on Tuesday called on the youths to stop protesting, adding that it was
affecting the morale of the security agents.
Comments
Post a Comment