Human rights activist, Festus Ogun has berated the government and security agencies for abandoning persons arrested in connection with End SARS protests.
The legal practitioner, in an interview with thedabigal, expressed dismay over the revelation that about 100 Nigerians taken in October 2020 are in prison in Niger State.
The citizens are being detained at the Suleja Custodial Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
The Principal Partner of Festus Ogun Legal described the continued incarceration of youths as “deeply worrisome”.
The lawyer, offering free representation to a number of them in Lagos and Ogun states, called the arrests and detentions “a wicked punishment for exercising fundamental right to protest.”
Ogun stressed that the aberration should not have happened in the first place if the government is truly committed to addressing salient issues raised during the End SARS demonstration.
He said in place of looking into complaints about social justice and human rights, the authorities repaid the youths with more injustice and brutalities.
“The continuous confinement of protesters and others randomly picked on the streets is a reminder that the weaknesses of the criminal justice system are a calamity on the poor and helpless.
“The authorities have continuously weaponized the inefficiency of the system to persecute and oppress young Nigerians who dared to ask questions. This is cruel and deeply disturbing”, Ogun grumbled.
The advocate told the authorities to allow all detainees access to families, lawyers, and immediately free those with no case against them.