President Muhammadu Buhari (image courtesy Presidency)
Amnesty International on Thursday urged the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to release those who have been subjected to enforced disappearance in the country.
Marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the human rights group accused Nigeria of detaining several persons in secret facilities.
“So many families are still searching for loved ones who have not been seen for many years,” the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, said in a statement.
“In some cases, families live with the pain of not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead.”
She added, “It’s time the government did the right thing – and either release these detainees or charge them with a recognisable criminal offence in a fair trial without recourse to death penalty.”
Ojigho accused the government of using enforced disappearance as a tactic to “silence critics and instil fear” in civilian populations whom she said were facing the double threat of armed groups and military operations.
As stated by her, some detainees have been held incommunicado for about nine years without access to their family or lawyers.
She alleged that several people suspected of being associated with Boko Haram, Niger Delta agitators, and pro-Biafra activists in the country were arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) in recent years.
“Although the new leadership of the DSS has started releasing some detainees, the authorities must ensure that the hundreds of other detainees are quickly released or charged in court,” Ojigho said.