Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has fiercely condemned President Bola Tinubu for prioritizing the execution of protesters over the escalating insecurity ravaging the nation.
In a searing statement posted on X on Wednesday, Mr. Abubakar mourned the brutal killings perpetrated by Boko Haram across Yobe and other northern states, attributing this bloodshed to the catastrophic failure of the Tinubu-led government.
“Despite the tragic bloodshed in Yobe, which has claimed scores of lives, and the rampant destruction across numerous villages in Katsina, Sokoto, and other towns within the North-West and North-Central regions, the government seems to remain detached, engrossed in inconsequential affairs,” Mr Abubakar said.
He added, “The turmoil extends to the South as well, where the disquiet wrought by Boko Haram and the unsettling political discord threatens the nation’s peace. Amidst these grave challenges, the federal government preoccupies itself with stifling dissent, resorting to draconian measures such as imposing death sentences on protesters.”
Mr. Abubakar’s furious denunciations erupted in the wake of a devastating Boko Haram assault in Yobe, which left over a hundred innocents dead.
Seething public outrage ignited over the trial of ten hunger protesters now charged with treason—a dire accusation that carries the death penalty under Nigerian law.
Human rights organization Amnesty International vehemently condemned the treason charges against the hunger protesters, asserting that Mr. Tinubu’s government was resorting to desperate and tyrannical tactics to weaponize the criminal justice system against dissenters.
In a statement on Monday, the organization knocked Tinubu’s regime for relentlessly targeting citizens who dared to rise against the suffocating grip of poverty and corruption with spurious accusations.
“Some of the charges to be filed against the protesters, ranging from treason, which carries the death penalty, to allegations of ‘plans to destabilize Nigeria,’ show how far the Nigerian authorities can go in manipulating the criminal justice system to silence critical voices,” the human rights organisation said.
It added, “These attempts by President Bola Tinubu’s government to charge those who protested widespread poverty and rampant corruption with treason are beyond absurd and baseless.”
A six-count charge court document filed with number FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024 by Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun shows that Mr Tinubu’s government has accused the protesters of felony and treason.
The first count in the document accuses the 10 protesters of “acting in concert and with intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspired together to commit felony to wit: Treason, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 96 and punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code.”
The 10 protesters facing treason charges and possible execution if convicted are Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaluwa Eleojo Simon, Angel Love Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khamis, and Abdulsalam Zubairu.
