By Aisha Gambo
Some of the released EndBadGovernance protesters arrested during the August 2024 nationwide protests in Kaduna said they were never tortured while in detention.
They also stated that they never saw their alleged sponsor, Khalid while in detention.
Narrating their accounts after their release, they said they were treated fairly during their stay in detention.
One of the released protesters, Dahiru Hamza from Tudun Wada, Kaduna, stated that their release followed the new DSS Director-General’s decision.
He explained, “‘Honestly, I was not happy with the person that sponsored us to the protest, Khalid.
“This was because he convinced us to believe that he had police authorisation to embark on the protest, only for us to end up in DSS custody.
“But, we were lucky; 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 was tortured in that room, and I never saw him being tortured either.”
Hamza further added that after his arrest, he became scared, thinking he would be maltreated.
He added,”But, that never happened. After writing my statement, I was even given food to eat before my detention, and the medical team attended to us.”
Hamza said the only problem they faced was being confined into a place because they were not used to being kept in one place for a long time as a DJ.
He added,”Apart from that, nobody beat or maltreated us.
“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.
” I don’t know why Khalid claimed he was tortured in detention.”
Similarly, another released protester, Abdullahi Isa, arrested on August 2nd, said nobody touched him in the name of beating in detention.
Isa said, “We were in the room with Khalid, and I can tell you for a fact that nobody touched me or beat anybody among us.
” I never saw him being beaten or tortured.”
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.
” Abdullahi concluded that since their release from the DSS on the order of the new DGSS, none of the officers of the organisation had called or harassed them.
Isa averred, ” We later heard that the new DGSS even told the Kaduna DSS to review all operation and legal procedures of their cases and that of Khalid in Court.
“That why why he is a free man today even though he sponsored us.” (NAN
