The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) has condemned the recent report by Amnesty International on the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance Protest in Nigeria, describing the report as ill-conceived, biased, and an inaccurate reflection of the events that characterized the protests in northern part of the country.
Leader of the coalition, Comrade Gbenga Soloki, gave this position at a press conference which took place on Tuesday in Lagos, and attended by Barrister Mogbojuri Kayode, Comrades Razak Oladosu Buska of Grassroots Democratic Initiative (GDI), Sina Loremikan of Campaign Against Impunity (CAI), Gbenga Ganzallo of Centre for Public Accountability (CPA), Aishat Omolara, Jude Chiagha, among others.
Soloki, who is the Executive Director of Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence (CAIDOV), said that the coalition had reviewed the report by Amnesty International titled: “Bloody August: Nigeria Government’s Violent Crackdown on #EndBadGovernance Protests,” which was released on the 28th of November 2024, expressing great concern and disappointment over the document.
Soloki acknowledged Amnesty International as a respected global human rights organization but said that the coalition led by him was particularly alarmed by the deliberate omissions and misrepresentations in Amnesty’s report that painted a one-sided and distorted picture of the protests.
The rights activist, while maintaining that the coalition frowned upon the use of excessive force by security personnel, just as he expressed the coalition’s strong belief in the right of Nigerians to express their dissatisfaction through peaceful protests against bad governance, said it was important to highlight that the report by the Amnesty International failed to acknowledge key facts that would provide a clearer understanding of the situation.
“We are particularly alarmed by the deliberate omissions and misrepresentations in the report that painted a one-sided, distorted picture of the protests.
“Amnesty International’s report claims that at least twenty-four (24) people were killed by security forces during the protests in six northern states.
“While we do not condone the use of excessive force by security personnel, we must highlight that the report fails to acknowledge key facts that would provide a clearer understanding of the situation.
“The violence that erupted during the August protests was not one-sided. Yes, there were tragic incidents where innocent lives were lost, but the report completely disregards the widespread violence, looting, and destruction that took place during these protests in several northern states, including Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, and Gombe.
“The Amnesty report fails to mention the violent attacks on security personnel, including the brutal murder of a police officer and the injury of several others.
“These facts are not inconsequential, as they point to the escalation of violence during the protests, which could not have been ignored in any accurate account of the events.
“We are particularly surprised by Amnesty International’s glaring omission of the truth surrounding the violence that marked the protests,” Soloki said.
“In several northern states, protesters did not merely engage in peaceful demonstrations. In fact, many of these protests devolved into violent riots that saw large-scale looting, destruction of public property, and assaults on security personnel.
“Markets, businesses, and private properties were ransacked in broad daylight by those claiming to protest the government.
“How does Amnesty International fail to acknowledge the violent elements among the protesters? How is it that the organization chose to ignore the reality on the ground, where criminal elements infiltrated the protests, causing chaos, terror, and harm?” he queried.
According to him, these elements were not protesting governance, but were criminal actors engaging in robbery, arson, and violence, noting that the report failed to account for this critical aspect of the protest, which was essential to understanding the security agencies’ response.
Also speaking, Barrister Kayode equally knocked Amnesty International’s report, saying that the fact that it was coming from the body did not make it credible.
Kayode said that the report must be proved with statistics, noting that the names and families of those who died during the #EndBadGovernance Protests must be mentioned, even as he maintained that the police had a right to carry out their duties to avoid breakdown of law and order.
“Such allegation should be verified and confirmed. Amnesty International should not allow itself to be used as machinery in the hands of politicians.
“We are challenging Amnesty International on this. Their report must be subjected to verification,” he said.
Loremikan, in his own remark, emphasised the need for accurate data in human rights abuse reports as demanded by international practices and regulations, even as he noted that as rights activists, all of them at the gathering were friends of Amnesty International.
He, however, pointed out that the report by Amnesty International on #EndBadGovernance Protests in Nigeria concentrated on the northern part as if there was no human rights abuse in the South-West and other parts of the country.
“The problem with Amnesty International is that they didn’t collaborate with the rights groups on ground here in Nigeria. There are more means and avenues to verify what is on the ground,” Loremikan said.
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