The organisation marked the day in Abuja by bringing together victim’s families, activists, law enforcement, civil society and the media.
The Nigerian authorities must demonstrate a genuine commitment to ending the heinous crime of enforced disappearances, says Amnesty International Nigeria to mark this year’s International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance.
The global rights organisation lamented that it is widely prevalent across all parts of the country, with thousands of people missing or disappearing for many years, especially in areas facing conflicts.
The organisation marked the day in Abuja by bringing together victim’s families, activists, law enforcement, civil society and the media.
The country director, Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi who delivered the opening remarks, said that it is unfortunate that the Nigerian government continues to fail to open effective investigations on people who forcibly disappeared persons.
Sanusi lamented that enforced disappearance is a longstanding tactic used to silence critics and instil fear in civilian populations.
Civil rights activists Omoyele Sowore and Senator Shehu Sani who delivered remarks chided the Nigerian government for failing to account for many who were forcibly made to disappear.
They described enforced disappearance as an instrument of terror used by the state and non-state actors to silence dissent. Both activists described the abduction of Abubakar Idris (Dadiyata) – a critic of the Nigerian government – and many other Nigerians, as a clear testimony of the failure of the authorities to protect the sanctity of life.
Sowore noted that there will only be justice if those behind all enforced disappearances through arbitrary and unlawful arrests are held to account.
Senator Sani said Dadiyata’s case and the silence of those who should have spoken about it indicate utter disdain for the sanctity of life.
The event was also attended by Usman Idris Usman, the brother of Dadiyata, who recounted many futile attempts his family made to make the authorities take action or make efforts to trace Dadiyata.
He also lamented that despite writing to all agencies of government relevant to the matter, his family and the two daughters of Dadiyata were left without any accountability – four years on.
Merit Ifedi whose father and mother, Sunday Ifedi and Calista Ifedi, were taken by security operatives from their home in Enugu, on 23 November 2021 over alleged membership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), lamented that she had to drop out of school in the absence of her parents - held incommunicado - so that she can care for her siblings.
She described the pain of not being given access to her parents for over 644 days.
“Since 2021 when they picked up my parents, there has been no word and there was so much uncertainty regarding where my parents are,” she added.
Amnesty International called on the Nigerian authorities to criminalise enforced disappearance under national law and make it punishable by appropriate penalties in view of its devastating impact on families.
“With ongoing conflicts across Nigeria, more families are having to bear the pain of enforced disappearance,” the organisation’s Nigeria Director, Isa Sanusi, said.