Nigeria: Group Demands Halt to 'Sham Trial' of #EndBadGovernance Activists

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately cease the prosecution of 11 #EndBadGovernance activists, including Micheal Lenin, who is being charged with treason, mutiny, and terrorism.

The trial is set to begin on 29 January 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, raising widespread concern, as treason is punishable by death under Nigerian law.

Speaking at a press conference held at the International Press Centre in Lagos, Francis Nwapa, the National Secretary of the YRC, emphasised that the activists' only "crime" was participating in a peaceful protest against hunger, poverty, and hardship caused by President Tinubu's policies.

The 11 activists who are facing the prospect of a death sentence are Micheal Lenin, Mosiu Sodiq, Daniel Akande, Angel Innocent, Adeyemi Abayomi, Buhari Lawal, Bashir Bello, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaoluwa Simon, Nuradeen Khamis, and Abdulsalam Zubairu.

"To be clear, Michel Lenin and others have no fear of appearing before a court of competent jurisdiction to prove their innocence of the false, absurd, and trumped-up charges made up by the Nigerian Police and the National Intelligence Agency against them in a bid to paint the protest as the handiwork of Russia, whereas it was simply the uprising of a people fed up by hunger and poverty.

"However, we have every reason to fear that they would not receive fair trial unless the judiciary manages to surmount political interference to ensure fairness, probity, and justice," he said.

Allegations of maltreatment

Citing the testimony of Mr Lenin, one of the arrested activists, the group decried the ill-treatment meted out to the defendants during the period of their detention and the deplorable conditions they were exposed to.

The group said the psychological torture they suffered while in custody has severely affected the mental health of the activists, who are currently undergoing psycho-social therapy.

The group noted that the actions of the police violate basic fundamental human rights and international human rights laws.

"In his chilling report of the conditions of their detention at the IRT facility, Mr Lenin described how they often heard gunshots during the night and how the detention facility is notorious as a torture chamber and slaughter slab.

"Mr Lenin described how he was often brought out in the middle of the night for questioning while his cellmates feared for his life because, according to them, bringing people out in the night for questioning was often a ploy used by the police to carry out the unlawful execution of inmates.

"It goes without saying that this kind of ill-treatment of political detainees amounts to a violation of several international statutes and laws, including Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the United Nations' Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading treatment or punishment," he said.

Allegations of repression

The YRC argued that the trial is a blatant attempt to silence dissenting voices and crush opposition, and the proof of evidence is "inadequate to sustain the charges against them."

"For a group of defendants who are being tried for grievous offences ranging from treason to mutiny and intent to destabilise and levy war against Nigeria, you would have expected that the government would have been able to provide more convincing and incriminating evidence to prove its case like weapons and other indicators.

"But the truth of the matter is that the charges against the 11 protesters, just as the charges against the 114, including the children who were discharged in November last year, are trumped-up and false charges. There is no iota of truth to these charges, which Amnesty International has rightly described as a sham trial," he said.

On his part, Hassan Taiwo, the National Coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), noted that protests should not be criminalised and the trial of the 11 activists suggests that President Tinubu is running a civilian dictatorship.

"When the mere expression of protest against a government becomes a basis for a trial that leads to sentencing, then that is the highest form of dictatorship... And that is where President Tinubu is leading Nigeria and we are saying enough is enough," he said.

Human rights worsening under President Tinubu

Over the years, concerns over human rights violations have continued to rise.

According to the World Justice Project, in its World Human Rights and Rule of Law Index, Nigeria ranked 120 out of 140 countries in 2023 and 2024.

Activists say President Tinubu's heavy-handed approach to protests is reminiscent of Nigeria's dark past under military dictatorship.

The widespread arrests, detentions, and trials have evoked memories of the execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in November 1995.

This article originally appeared on the Premium Times.