Amnesty International has called on Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of killing of protesters by security personnel in the state during the #endbadgovernnance protest.
WikkiTimes reports that police on Saturday have killed scores of protesters in Kurna and Rijiyar Lemo axis of Kano city.
In a statement posted on its X handle, Amnesty International Nigeria (AIN) on Sunday said, there is the urgent need for the Kano state government to investigate the general conduct of security agencies, saying this will end impunity and ensure due adherence to rule of law.
AIN said it was equally disturbed by the wanton destruction of properties by thugs that were allegedly hired.
The human rights group said failure to investigate the circumstances surrounding the protests in Kano state will be a major setback to rule of law and fundamental rights of citizens.
“Failure to investigate the killings and destruction in Kano, from 1 August to date, by state and non-state actors will be a devastating setback for the rule of law. It will also only perpetuate the culture of impunity which is already so pervasive in Nigeria”.
“Amnesty International calls on the Governor of Kano state @Kyusufabba to immediately set up an independent judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the reckless killing of at least 10 hunger protesters at Kurna and Kofar Nasarawa Kano ”, it said.
The organization called for adequate protection to victims, their families and witnesses that will testify before the panel, saying that doing so will prevent them from being harassed or victimized by the powerful.
“For an effective investigation that can lead to justice, victims, their families and potential witnesses must be protected from being influenced, harassment, threats, ill-treatment or reprisals to ensure they can make submissions to the panel without fear” it added.
