The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Nigerian authorities to lift arbitrary restrictions, including unblocking bank accounts of EndSARS protest supporters and dismissing or reimbursing arbitrary fines.
The Rights group decried that Nigerian authorities appear to have used coercive financial measures to suppress protests against police brutality and independent media reporting.
It said days after nationwide protests over an abusive police unit began on October 8, 2020, key champions of the protests reported how the Central Bank of Nigeria instructed private banks to freeze several organizations’ and individuals’ accounts to stop the flow of funds supporting the protests.
The National Broadcasting Commission also fined three independent television stations that reported on the violent response to the protests by security forces, using different footage posted on social media which the commission claim were unverified and contributed to the violence.
Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch said: “Any attempts to suppress legitimate protests and genuine calls for accountability by arbitrarily blocking funds would be a gross abuse of power.”
According to her, “Such action would indicate a wider problem of malfeasance and impunity that threaten democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms.”
The researcher who lamented that security forces responded to the protests with excessive force, noted that they fired teargas, water cannons, and live ammunition at protesters.
It would be recalled that viral footage that circulated on social media captured men dressed in military fatigues shooting at protesters in Lagos, sparking international outrage and condemnation.
Ms Ewang said there have been credible reports of several deaths as a result of the shootings, which Human Rights Watch is investigating.
Human Rights Watch interviewed seven people via telephone and secure messaging apps between October 23 and 27, including representatives of three organizations and two individuals whose accounts were frozen after receiving or disbursing funds related to the protests.
Human Rights Watch also interviewed one protest organizer in Lagos who said he and other organizers had received reports from over 10 vendors and donors whose bank accounts were blocked after receiving or donating money to support the protests.
Those affected said their bank accounts were frozen without any prior notice or legal proceedings, and in all cases, bank staff revealed that the restrictions were based on Central Bank directives.
Bank staff told at least four people that the directive was related to transaction records that included references to EndSARS.
