Human rights attorney Femi Falana (SAN) revealed on Thursday that 2,111 people were detained during the nationwide demonstrations that lasted for 10 days.
The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria rallies, which began on August 1 and concluded on August 10, were sparked by the severe economic difficulties faced by citizens.
However, Falana expressed frustration in a statement that, despite constitutional protections, security forces cracked down on demonstrators in numerous states.
Providing a breakdown of the arrests, Falana noted that 873 protesters were detained in Kano, 403 in Jigawa, 120 in Katsina, 111 in Gombe, 110 in Sokoto, and 99 in Borno, among other locations.
He said, “Notwithstanding the official recognition of the fundamental right of the Nigerian people to protest against unpopular policies of governments, the security forces have continued to clamp down on protesters in many states of the federation.
Throughout the demonstrations, 2,111 individuals were detained across various states and the Federal Capital Territory. Falana further stated that among those detained, 1,403 have been charged in court and are currently held in prison due to the absence of legal counsel.
He stated, “Out of the 2,111 arrested suspects, 1,403 have been arraigned in various courts. Painfully, the suspects were ordered to be remanded in prison custody due to a lack of legal representation.
“The suspects were denied legal representation even though the Nigerian Bar Association had publicly announced its intention to provide lawyers to defend them.
“We have also confirmed that individual lawyers who had applied for the bail of the detained suspects in police stations were not informed that they were going to be arraigned in the courts. “
Falana stated that the government’s choice to refuse the suspects legal counsel was inconsistent with Section 36 of the constitution and various international agreements that Nigeria has ratified.
He said, “We submit that the decision by the authorities to deny the suspects legal representation constitutes a violent breach of their fundamental right to fair hearing guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.
“This is highly discriminatory and illegal on the ground that politically exposed persons who are arrested for looting the treasury to the tune of several billions of Naira are usually informed in advance of the dates and of their arraignment in the courts. Such highly placed suspected looters are always granted bail in liberal terms and even authorised by trial judges to travel abroad for medical treatment.”
He also sounded the alarm that security forces had exploited the protest to detain outspoken individuals.
