By Chinelo Obogo
Two of the released EndBadGovernance protesters arrested during the August 2024 nationwide protest in Kaduna have denied seeing one of their leaders, Khalid Aminu, being tortured while in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS) in the state.
Aminu, one of the leaders of the protest, had said in an interview after he was released, that he had a terrible experience while in detention and has fallen ill as a result of the ‘inhumane’ treatment he received from the DSS.
He said he was tortured, maltreated and denied his basic rights to speak to family and legal representation.
However, responding to Aminu’s claims, Dahiru Hamza and Abdullahi Isa, both of whom were also arrested, denied witnessing any torture.
Speaking in a video, both men who responded in hausa, said they said they were not treated badly during their stay in detention.
Hamza from Tudun Wada, Kaduna, stated that their release followed the new DSS Director General’s decision.
He also said Khalid informed them that he had police authorisation to embark on the protest and was surprised to end up in DSS custody He however denied being treated badly.
“Since our arrest, we were never tortured or maltreated. I sometimes challenged our sponsor, who was with us in the same room for days.
“None of us were tortured in that room, and I never saw him being tortured either,” he said.
Dahiru said after writing his statement, he was given food to eat before his detention, and the medical team attended to them.
He however said the major challenge they faced was being confined in a place for a long time.
“You know it was not easy to stay in a place for days or more than a month without knowing your fate, even if you are well fed.
“That I will say, was the problem, but nobody beat us in detention. If I had been tortured, now that I’m free from detention, I would not be afraid to say I was tortured, but I was not,” he said.
On his part, Isa, who was arrested on August 2nd, said he didn’t witness any torture and was also not beaten up.
“We were in the room with Khalid, and I can tell you that I never saw him beaten or tortured,” he said.
He said they were not expecting to be released until they were called upon, that the new DGSS said their guardians were invited to write a statement on their behalf, and they were allowed to go after that.
He said since their release from detention on the order of the new DGSS, none of the security officers had called or harassed them.
“We later heard that the new DGSS told the Kaduna DSS to review all operations and legal procedures of our cases and that of Khalid in court and that is why he is a free man today,” Isa said.