Global human rights advocacy organization, Amnesty International (AI), has raised an alarm over the arrest and detention of a woman, Hamdiya Sidi, by the Sokoto State government for lamenting about the rising killings and insecurity in the state.
AI, in a statement posted on its X handle on Thursday, frowned at the arrest of Sidi and her secret trial for allegedly embarrassing the state Governor, Ahmad Aliyu, with a video where she called him out over the situation.
The organization said Sidi was arrested during the weekend on the orders of the state government for embarrassing Governor Aliyu on social media and a secret trial was conducted on Monday without having access to a lawyer nor family members before she was hauled off to prison.
It added that it was a wrong signal for the government to arrest and secretly prosecute Sidi for exposing the state’s humanitarian crisis, noting that the intimidation against the woman is unlawful and threatens Nigerians’ right to freedom of expression.
In the post, the group said:
“Amnesty International condemns the arbitrary arrest and secret arraignment of Hamdiyya Sidi — for posting a viral video on social media, in which she lamented how the neglect of people displaced by rampant insecurity is worsening humanitarian crisis in Sokoto state.
“Our findings show that Hamdiyya Sidi received warnings and veiled threats through phone calls for calling out the utter failure of #Sokoto state government to support people affected by frequent gunmen’s attacks on rural communities in Sokoto state.
“Plan to charge Hamdiyya Sidi for the “use of insulting or abusive language” and “inciting disturbance” is an attempt to weaponize spurious charges to silence critical voices of young people in #Sokoto state who speak about human rights.
“Harassment and intimidation of Hamdiyya Sidi is unlawful. Attempts to silence and punish her, is solely aimed at creating a climate of fear for people who want to express critical opinions. #Sokoto.”
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