In a public statement, the humanitarian group listed the states where the killings took place. It said six persons were killed in Suleja, Niger state, with dozens severely wounded. According to Amnesty International, in Maiduguri, it said four people were killed, while three were killed in Kaduna.
It said the Nigerian authorities must investigate these incidents impartially and effectively and ensure that security personnel suspected of responsibility for the alleged deadly use of force are held to account through fair trial.
According to the group, violent crackdown on peaceful protesters is unjustified and unacceptable. The Nigerian authorities’ fierce clampdown on peaceful protests and the harmful rhetoric by government officials ahead of the protests appear to be part of a wider plan to find justification for depriving people of the right to peaceful protest.
It said findings, so far, show that security personnel at the locations where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill while dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty.