Nigeria: Activists jailed for anti-president t-shirts

The right to freedom of expression has come under severe attack in Nigeria. Young people have activated the power of peaceful protests to demand justice for police abuses, extortion and extra-judicial executions while the authorities continue to repress them. Human rights defenders, lawyers and civil society organizations are now left with few alternative channels to demand accountability from the government. Those who attempt to exercise their right to peacefully protest on the streets are being repressed, and many have faced arbitrary detention, torture and trumped-up charges.

The right to peaceful assembly is protected under both the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended), and human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party to, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.