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#EndBadGovernance protest: Released protesters deny torture claims

Two protesters arrested during the August 2024 EndBadGovernance Nationwide protest, who have since been released, have stated that they were not tortured while in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS) in the state.

According to their accounts, they were released a month ago from the DSS Kaduna office and both of them were DJs who played music during the protest in Kaduna and were not among those arrested and taken to court in Abuja.

However, they told newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday that they were released earlier in October 2024 following a directive from the new DSS Director General, who reviewed their case immediately after taking over and met them in custody.

One of the released protesters, Isa Abdullahi arrested on August 2nd, denied allegations of being tortured during his detention by the DSS.

He stated that he was able to communicate with his wife during his time in custody without any issues.

“We were also given access to medication and food. We were not tortured in any way,” he said

Abdullahi further praised the DSS Director General for ordering their release without any conditions or charges against them.

“We were released without being charged on the order of the DSS DG,” he said.

Another released protester, Dahiru Hamza, from Tudun Wada, Kaduna, stated that their release followed the DSS DG’s decision upon realising they were innocent.

“On the very day of the protest, I managed to run when we sighted security agencies. But I was later arrested on the 8th of August 2024. We were detained, but we were neither tortured nor starved.

“However, we were released without having to pay any bail and were asked to go and collect our sound systems on the order of the DG DSS, which we did,” he explained.

Hamza added that he was misled by some of the protest organisers, who told him that the security agencies had given them permission to protest in the state. He also called on the government to create more employment opportunities for the country’s youth.

It was gathered that one of the protest organisers, who they claimed hired them, was also released, as all charges against him were dropped on the order of the new Director General of the State Security Service.

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