The Nigeria Police Drive has dismissed allegations made by Amnesty Worldwide in its report, describing the claims as false, deceptive, and damaging to the picture of the power.
The report, dated November 28, 2024, accused the police of extrajudicial killings through the protests, claiming that no less than 24 individuals had been killed in six northern states.
Titled “Bloody August: Nigeria Authorities’s Violent Crackdown on #EndBadGovernance Protests,” the report has been refuted by the police, who assert that their findings contradict Amnesty Worldwide’s allegations.
Addressing a press briefing on the matter on Sunday, Drive Spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi revealed {that a} particular investigative panel had been constituted to confirm the claims.
He defined that the panel, in collaboration with commissioners of police from the affected states, carried out intensive investigations and compiled a complete report highlighting inaccuracies in Amnesty Worldwide’s allegations.
“Amnesty Worldwide is suggested to replicate on its frequent false reporting on Nigeria’s regulation enforcement actions and guarantee its studies are correct and comprise a real and truthful illustration of occasions affecting nationwide safety and public security. Correct reporting of info is crucial to the integrity of any worldwide organisation, and Amnesty Worldwide shouldn’t be an exception,” Adejobi stated.
He added that the police would write to demand a retraction of the report in addition to a public apology for the alleged inaccuracies.
“The Nigeria Police Drive will, sooner or later, write to Amnesty Worldwide to demand the retraction of this report from the general public area together with a public apology. The Nigeria Police Drive stays resolute in defending the rights of all residents whereas making certain the safety and stability of the nation. We, due to this fact, urge the general public to be cautious of sensational studies designed to incite distrust and weaken confidence in regulation enforcement establishments,” Adejobi stated.
Reeling out the police findings in Borno, Adejobi stated the police didn’t use grenades as claimed by the organisation.
He stated, “In Borno State, it was established that the protesters had been violent, participating in widespread looting, pillaging, and wanton destruction of private and non-private property. For instance, the Talent Acquisition Centre of the United Nations Excessive Fee for Refugees was looted and vandalised.
“The warehouse of the World Meals Programme, situated on Baga/Maimalari Barracks Street, Maiduguri, was additionally looted, with a number of objects belonging to the worldwide organisation destroyed and stolen by a number of the protesters.
“Subsequently, the claims by Amnesty Worldwide that the police threw a hand grenade from a convoy of autos right into a filling station killing three individuals is a blatant falsehood and leaves right-thinking members of society dismayed at this reported falsehood by a global company that must act in accordance with worldwide norms and requirements of truthful and trustworthy reporting of human rights violations within the nation.”
In Niger State, Adejobi stated the declare that three people had been shot useless in Suleja was debunked within the police findings.
Adejobi stated the alleged killing of a 21-year-old in Katsina was additionally discovered to be unsubstantiated, including that native sources confirmed that no such incident occurred.
Additionally in Kaduna State, Adejobi stated opposite to Amnesty Worldwide’s report, no protests occurred in Kaduna on October 1, 2024, and no police killings had been recorded.
He stated as a substitute, an incident involving the Nigerian Military was recognized and brazenly investigated.
Adejobi stated Amnesty Worldwide reported the deaths of two girls and a person throughout protests in Jigawa, however the police investigations revealed no such killings, and proof recommended that the lone fatality was attributable to protester violence, not police motion.
In Kano State, Adejobi stated the report alleged 12 deaths in Kano as a result of police actions, stating that investigations indicated that these deaths resulted from violent confrontations involving looters and criminals, not police exercise.