Amnesty International Nigeria has reported that, three years following the violent quelling of the nationwide #EndSARS protests aimed at addressing police brutality, a minimum of 15 protesters who were arrested in 2020 continue to be held in arbitrary detention. 

The majority of these individuals are languishing in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre and Ikoyi Medium Security Correctional Centre in Lagos without undergoing a fair trial. 

The Nigerian authorities have levied baseless charges such as theft, arson, unlawful firearm possession, and murder against many of these protesters.

 The organization has also pointed out that some of the detainees claim to have endured torture during their incarceration.

Isa Sanusi, the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, had this to say:

“Our investigation shows the Nigerian authorities’ utter disdain for human rights. Three years in detention without trial is a travesty of justice. This shows the authorities’ contempt for due process of law. The protesters must be immediately and unconditionally released,”

Sanusi reported that seven #EndSARS protesters, namely Daniel Joy-Igbo, Sodiq Adigun, Sunday Okoro, Olumide Fatai, Oluwole Isa, Shehu Anas, and Akiniran Oyetakin, who were apprehended in Lagos in 2020, were being held in arbitrary custody at Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre. 

Among these protesters, Daniel Joy-Igbo, a Beninois individual who participated in the #EndSARS movement in Lagos in October 2020, provided an account of his detention at various locations, including Bar Beach Police Station, the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, and a SARS facility in Ikeja, when speaking with Amnesty International.

“Since my arraignment in December 2020, I have been locked up in the prison without trial. Since then, there is no adjourned date for my case. I have not been taken to court since December 2020.”

Sodiq Adigun, another individual arrested in October 2020, and who had previously been held at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, conveyed his experiences to Amnesty International.

“Let the government release me. I have been detained since 2020 without trial. I am innocent. My life has been shattered. I need my liberty.”

Sanusi reported that eight #EndSARS protesters, namely Segun Adeniyi, Onuorah Odih, Jeremiah Lucky, Gideon Ikwujomah, Irinyemi Olorunwanbe, Quadri Azeez, Olamide Lekan, and Sadiq Riliwan, have been held in the Ikoyi Medium Security Correctional Centre in Lagos without undergoing a fair trial since 2020.

He said, “All those detained solely for taking part in peaceful #EndSARS protests must be released immediately and unconditionally,”