Establish Judicial Commission of Inquiry into fatal shooting at protesters, Amnesty International tells Kano Gov

By KEMI KASUMU

Amnesty International has called on the Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, to establish an independent judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the fatal shooting of, at least, 10 protesters in Kurna and Kofar Nasarawa, during the ##EndBadGovernance protest in the state.

The incident occurred as the demonstrators were demanding significant economic reforms and the reinstatement of fuel subsidies, recently removed by the Federal Government.

In a statement released on Sunday, Amnesty International emphasised the need for a thorough investigation into the general conduct of security agencies and the alleged involvement of hired thugs, who reportedly disrupted the protests and caused destruction.

The international human rights organisation urged that the commission’s work be conducted publicly and be adequately resourced to ensure a comprehensive inquiry.

The statement further noted that failure to investigate these killings and incidents, from August 1 to date, by state and non-state actors, would be a severe setback for the rule of law in Nigeria.

It noted that such failure to investigate abuses would also perpetuate the existing culture of impunity in the country.

Amnesty International Nigeria stressed that, “The Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, must immediately establish an independent judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the reckless killing of at least 10 hunger protesters at Kurna and Kofar Nasarawa, Kano.

“The general conduct of security agencies and the interruptions and destruction caused by alleged hired thugs must also be thoroughly investigated.”

The organization also highlighted the need for victims, their families, and potential witnesses to be protected from any form of harassment, threats, ill-treatment or reprisals to ensure they can testify freely and without fear before the panel.

The DEFENDER reports that the Amnesty International’s call on Kano State Governor further justified the criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s national broadcast speech earlier on Sunday, for failing to address the brutality and use of live bullets as well as teargas on peaceful protesters.

The protests, we gathered, turned violence for two reasons namely activities of thugs allegedly hired by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), fully guarded by security agents to run counter protests in a way that disrupted the peaceful anti-hunger protests and, two, activities of security agents teargasing and shooting peaceful protesters to block them from protesting thus depriving them their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights.