It described the development as “unjustified and unacceptable”.
In a statement on Friday, issued by its Country Director, Isa Sanusi, the organisation urged the Nigerian authorities to investigate the incidents impartially and effectively and ensure that security personnel suspected of responsibility for the alleged deadly use of force were held to account through fair trial.
The organisation noted the situations in Suleja, Niger State, where six persons were killed and dozens wounded, Maiduguri, where four persons were killed and Kaduna, where three other persons were killed.
It, therefore, expressed concern over the Nigerian authorities’ growing hostility to dissent and the relentless repression of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
The statement explained, “Our 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.”
It called on the Nigerian government to take concrete steps to address the impact of recent reforms on economic, social and cultural rights, including people’s rights to health and education, saying that all those arrested for taking part in the protest must be released immediately and unconditionally.
It added that authorities should also end the rampant violations of the people’s rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
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