According to Amnesty International, 40-year-old Obioma Okoroafor, 34-year-old Ozoemela Nwaokorie, and Ogechi Ifere Martins, were arrested on October 27, 2020 by personnel of the Nigerian Army at Oyigbo, Rivers State during the #EndSARS protests.
A global human rights organisation, Amnesty International has revealed the names of three Nigerian youths who were arrested by soldiers of the Nigerian Army in October 2020 in Rivers State during the #EndSARS protest whose whereabouts have not been known till date.
According to Amnesty International, 40-year-old Obioma Okoroafor, 34-year-old Ozoemela Nwaokorie, and Ogechi Ifere Martins, were arrested on October 27, 2020 by personnel of the Nigerian Army at Oyigbo, Rivers State during the #EndSARS protests.
However, while the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, recently denied that there was any #EndSARS protester still being held in any security detention facility across the country, Amnesty International said the whereabouts of Okoroafor, Nwaokorie and Martins have been unknown and the military has denied having them in its custody.
“Obioma Okoroafor (40 years), Ozoemela Nwaokorie (34 years), and Ogechi Ifere Martins were arrested on 27 October 2020 by men of the Nigerian Army at Oyigbo, Rivers State during the #EndSARS protests.
“Their whereabouts are unknown. The military denied having them in their custody,” Amnesty International wrote in a post on its X account.
The global human rights organisation also decried the continuous detention and torture of the microblogger and undercover journalist, Isaac Bristol, known popularly as @PIDOMNigeria, without granting him access to his family and legal representatives.
Amnesty International Nigeria in a post on its X account said that the Nigerian authorities have refused to charge PIDOM to court, rather, he has been exposed to high risk of torture and other ill-treatment in detention.
Amnesty International wrote, “Whistleblower PIDOM is still unlawfully detained by the Nigerian authorities, without access to family or adequate legal assistance, and without being charged to court — further exposing him to the high risks of torture and other ill treatment.”
Similarly, investigative journalist and founder of Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) Fisayo Soyombo decried PIDOM’s detention and asked that he should either be charged to court or released immediately.
Soyombo in a post on his X account said that law enforcement agencies must not be bigger than the law in Nigeria, noting that detaining a suspect for more than three weeks is simply criminal.
He wrote, “Arraign Pidom now! Or release him straightaway!
“Whatever accusations the police have against Pidom, they have to charge him to court immediately.
“Law enforcement agencies must not be bigger than the law. More than 3 weeks of holding on to a civilian is simply criminal!”
SaharaReporters had reported the arrest of PIDOM by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The whistleblower was arrested on August 5, 2024.
PIDOM lamented that the police abducted and kept him in solitary confinement for at least six days in an anti-kidnapping unit before transferring him to a different facility.
He was later transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department custody.
Arraign Pidom now!
Or release him straightaway!
Whatever accusations the police have against Pidom, they have to charge him to court immediately.
Law enforcement agencies must not be bigger than the law. More than 3 weeks of holding on to a civilian is simply criminal!
— 'Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) August 28, 2024
Obioma Okoroafor (40 years), Ozoemela Nwaokorie (34 years), and Ogechi Ifere Martins were arrested on 27 October 2020 by men of the Nigerian Army at Oyigbo, Rivers State during the #EndSARS protests. Their whereabouts are unknown. The military denied having them in their custody.
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) August 29, 2024
Whistleblower PIDOM is still unlawfully detained by the Nigerian authorities, without access to family or adequate legal assistance, and without being charged to court — further exposing him to the high risks of torture and other ill treatment.
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) August 29, 2024