In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its Senior Legal Analyst, Sylvester Agih, the organisation said the students were unfairly targeted for protesting rising insecurity within the university community, including cases of robbery, kidnapping, and banditry.
Human rights advocacy group, the Citizens’ Gavel, has condemned the arrest and continued detention of 52 students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, describing the action as unjust, unlawful, and a threat to constitutional democracy.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its Senior Legal Analyst, Sylvester Agih, the organisation said the students were unfairly targeted for protesting rising insecurity within the university community, including cases of robbery, kidnapping, and banditry.
Citizens' Gavel said, "It is a clear injustice that students calling for an end to robbery, kidnapping, and banditry at their university community were not arrested at the protest or at the scene of alleged vandalism, but instead taken from their hostels at night like hardened criminals.
"It is especially concerning that some of those arrested did not even join the protest. Let us be clear that this suspicion of civil unrest cannot excuse such an unjust process.
"It has become telling how security forces suddenly become hyper-vigilant when suppressing dissent. That the Nigeria Police Force would undertake such an offensive against unarmed students while banditry and theft have flourished in the university vicinity for months, with no significant arrests made, is a gross misplacement of proactiveness.
"Need we remind the Edo State Government that protests remain a lawful exercise guaranteed by Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)? Need we remind the Nigeria Police Force that under Section 35(2) Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), any suspect must be informed promptly of the reason and fact for their arrest and be accorded reasonable facilities to obtain legal advice?
"Reports indicating that these students were denied these fundamental rights render this entire mass arrest exercise a breach of the principles of fairness and legality, and therefore, unjust."
Citizens’ Gavel cautioned against what it described as the recurring “hijacked protest” narrative, which it said is often used to justify repression of legitimate dissent.
The group also urged the judiciary to remain impartial and protective of citizens’ rights.
"The court must remember its role as the hope of the common man, protecting the sanctity of citizens’ constitutional freedoms rather than playing into the interests of the powers that be,” the statement added.
Reaffirming its commitment to justice and accountability, Citizens’ Gavel said it would continue to speak out against what it termed the criminalisation of dissent and the mistreatment of Nigerian youths.
“We will not look the other way while bona fide citizens are met with brutish force for lending their voices to systemic issues,” the statement concluded.
The group called for the immediate release of the detained students, using the hashtag #FreeAAUStudents.