Amnesty International Calls for Immediate Release Of Activist Maryam Awaisu
Amnesty International has through their Twitter handle asked the Nigeria Police to release the #ArewaMeToo activist, Maryam Awaisu with immediate effect.
Read their Tweet;
Nigeria: Police must release #ArewaMeToo activist Maryam Awaisu immediately and unconditionally https://t.co/EBmRrPjyNG
— Amnesty Int. Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) February 19, 2019
See the press statement;
The Director, Amnesty International, Osai Ojigho said, “Authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Maryam Aiwasu who has done nothing more than speaking up for women’s rights. Her arrest appears to be an attempt to intimidate and harass both her and other women supporting #ArewaMeToo – a movement seeking justice for victims of sexual violence in Nigeria.
“While arresting Maryam, the police attempted to gain access to her laptop and mobile phone by force; this is clearly an effort to access the sensitive evidence she and other human rights defenders have been gathering to seek justice for victims of sexual violence.
“Maryam and the other brave human rights defenders working with the #ArewaMeToo movement must not be silenced or punished for the vital work they do. For too long, Nigeria’s women have been facing various kinds of sexual violence that seldom receives proper attention from the country’s law enforcement agencies. It is unacceptable that women working on behalf of these victims are subjected to such arrest and intimidation, and we fear that these actions may prevent victims of sexual violence from pursuing justice.”
As of the time of filing this report, the hashtag, #FreeMaryamAwaisu, demanding the release of the activist was the number three topic on Twitter NG’s trend list.
Also, Police has yet to comment on the alleged arrest of Awaisu as of the time of filing this report.
According to Amnesty International through its site, revealed that Awaisu was arrested in her office in Kaduna by “a convoy of officers from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad,” who took her to their Abuja office.
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