Amnesty Int’l berates Nigerian govt for barring journalists from courtroom during Kanu’s trial

The human rights organisation, Amnesty International has slammed the decision of the Federal Government to restrict journalists that covered the court trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafran (IPOB).

Ripples Nigeria also gathered that the Department of State Services (DSS) banned the legal representatives of Mr Kanu, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, from gaining access to the courtroom, undermining his rights as a legal representative.

As a result, Amnesty International in a statement on its official Twitter page on Monday condemned the authorities for selecting few journalists to cover the trial today in Abuja.

“Amnesty International condemns Nigerian authorities’ restriction of the number of journalists that can report the trial of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, which started today in Abuja,” @AmnestyNigeria tweeted.

READ ALSO: DSS bar journalists from covering Kanu’s trial, accredits only 10 media houses

“Selecting few journalists to cover the trial is a restriction on access to information and an attempt to deny people the right to know. It also violates all fair hearing guarantees.”

“We call on the Nigerian authorities to respect the right to fair hearing and immediately lift the restriction and allow the media unhindered access to the court to do their job. This is yet another bizarre and unacceptable attack on the Nigerian media that must not stand”, the body stated.

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