According to Femi Falana, over 2,100 people were arrested around the protests and just over 1,400 have been taken to court – so around 700 are being held illegally. Nearly 500 protesters were remanded to prison by three magistrate courts in Kano. Amnesty International described these as “an unfair trial based on trumped-up charges.” Many other protesters were arrested in other states including 400 in Jigawa, 120 in Katsina, 111 in Gombe, 110 in Sokoto, Borno 97, Bauchi 60, 51 in Plateau, Yobe 50, Nasarawa 40, Niger 23 and 19 in Zamfara, according to Vanguard. Many of these do not have legal representation and they had no option of bail. As a result, many detainees face at least another month in prison before their next court case.
Civil society, including trade union branches and officials, pro-democracy and human rights organisations should be providing more solidarity, especially to those detained locally in their states. We need to ensure that these detainees are not forgotten and that people will not be discouraged from future protests by this unwarranted level of repression.
All trade union branches and others should consider adopting a detainee or a group of detainees. This would mean monitoring where the detainees are being held, whether they are getting adequate legal representation and organising support when they appear in court. It could also mean writing letters demanding their release, publicising their cases and visiting and raising money for their families. The trade unions can work with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to ensure that all detainees have adequate legal representation and support. They also need to work together to ensure the detainees appear in court as soon as possible.
Trade unions and their state secretariats should start by monitoring the level of arrests that have been made locally. They should contact the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and other local civil society organisations to ascertain the numbers of those arrested and to collate their names. We need to determine who amongst the detainees have been taken to court and check that they all have sufficient legal representation. Trade unions should support solidarity protests whenever detainees are due to appear in court. Especially where detainees are held for more than the Constitutional 48 hours without going to court, trade unions should write letters of protest to the police.
Trade unions should issue regular press releases to update the public on the position of their adopted detainees, especially after any court appearances. We need to ensure that as many detainees as possible are given bail. Where necessary, trade unions should try to assist the detainees to meet any bail conditions set by the court.
Trade unions can also support the families of those in captivity. Simple messages of support can go a long way to maintain morale. They can also provide important news for the families. We cannot just assume that families know what is happening to their loved ones. Family members should be invited to regular union meetings so that the case can be discussed and strategies to win their release agreed.
Financial support may also be necessary, especially where the main bread winner of the family is imprisoned. What may be a small amount for a trade union branch can make all the difference for a family that is now struggling to make regular payments.
All this support from the trade unions and civil society can make a huge difference. The government’s strategy is to try and terrorise the people. We have to try and ensure that our morale is maintained and the next set of protests is even more successful.
