Amnesty International Friday urged the Nigerian security forces to
disclose the whereabouts of a man who was arrested after tweeting
pictures of an attempted jail break at the headquarters of the
intelligence agency.
“Nigerian security forces should immediately disclose the whereabouts
and legal status of Yusuf Siyaka Onimisi,” said the rights group’s
Netsanet Belay in a statement.
“If he is in detention, the Nigerian authorities must either charge
him with a recognisable criminal offence or release him immediately,”
Amnesty said.
The attempted jail break at the headquarters of the Directorate of
State Services on March 30 sparked a gun battle that killed 21
detainees, the intelligence agency said.
Onimisi, who works for a national electricity firm, has been arrested
and held incommunicado for 11 days, his family said on Thursday.
The head of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu,
told AFP that his office was investigating the alleged disappearance of
the 32-year-old man.
“He has been arrested for 11 days without any information being given
to the family … . The family has been kept in darkness. If you are
holding him or if there is to be a sentence of death, then tell the
family,” Amnesty quoted Sanusi Onimisi, the man’s brother, as saying.
National security concerns have been cited in the past as justification for arresting people who publish sensitive material.
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