In Nigeria, TrialWatch advocated for the release of journalist and opposition figure Omoyele Sowore after monitoring his trial and finding grave violations. TrialWatch is also documenting how the police are complicit in abusive prosecutions of protesters. At the same time, TrialWatch is also monitoring the crackdown on members of vulnerable groups, including in particular prosecutions of individuals on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
“When I walked into the courtroom for the first time, somebody stepped up to me and said, …..we’re from Trial Watch.” And that was quite uplifting to feel like somebody’s in that room representing the outside world, quietly monitoring my trial.”
Journalist and opposition figure Omoyele Sowore, who was detained and charged with conspiracy to commit treason after calling for a peaceful political revolution, was freed and awarded damages in Nigeria after TrialWatch monitored his trial and published a report on his case.
TrialWatch has been documenting how the police—whose notorious brutality was the subject of the 2020 ‘EndSARs’ protests—are also complicit in abusive prosecutions.
Through our partner, the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights, TrialWatch has monitored four trials in which police prosecutors have pursued spurious cases, and is continuing to monitor such cases in connection with the presidential elections.
TrialWatch has monitoring Nigeria’s crackdown on members of vulnerable groups, including prosecutions of individuals on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. TrialWatch monitored the case of 47 men arrested during a raid on a hotel and charged with violating Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act in the first case under the law.
In Nigeria, TrialWatch monitored the first case to be tried under the country’s draconian ‘Same Sex Marriage Prevention Act,’ which criminalizes direct or indirect “public show of same sex amorous relationship” with up to ten years imprisonment. While the case, brought against 47 men arrested at a hotel bar, was eventually struck out, TrialWatch reporting exposed its abusive nature.
Several...
Nigeria: Discriminatory Laws Facilitate Harassment
In Nigeria, TrialWatch monitored the first case to be tried under the country’s draconian ‘Same Sex Marriage Prevention Act,’ which criminalizes direct or indirect “public show[s] of same sex amorous relationship[s]” with up to ten years imprisonment. While the case, brought against 47 men arrested at a hotel bar, was eventually struck out, TrialWatch reporting exposed its abusive nature.
Several defendants said they were mistreated in custody, and others were forcibly ‘outed’ by being paraded in public by the authorities. And despite being given numerous opportunities by the court, the prosecution produced no relevant evidence. Even though the case was ultimately dismissed, the defendants suffered serious consequences, including loss of their jobs, estrangement from their families, stigmatization, physical violence, and legal fees.
This case starkly highlights the need to repeal the Same Sex Marriage Prevention Act and to cease harassment of LGBTQ individuals in Nigeria.
Journalist and opposition figure Omoyele Sowore, who was detained and charged with conspiracy to commit treason after calling for a peaceful political revolution, was freed and awarded damages in Nigeria after TrialWatch monitored his trial and published a report on his case.
The report found the authorities offered shifting justifications for pursuing the case and that the charges appeared...
Nigeria: Opposition Leader Released
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Journalist and opposition figure Omoyele Sowore, who was detained and charged with conspiracy to commit treason after calling for a peaceful political revolution, was freed and awarded damages in Nigeria after TrialWatch monitored his trial and published a report on his case.
The report found the authorities offered shifting justifications for pursuing the case and that the charges appeared to have been brought against Mr. Sowore because the protests he sought to organize were “at odds with the Buhari government’s agenda.”
When I walked into the courtroom for the first time, somebody stepped up to me and said, '…..we're from Trial Watch.' And that was quite uplifting to feel like somebody's in that room representing the outside world, quietly monitoring my trial.
Journalist
