Security personnel in Kano State have intensified their crackdown on media outlets, targeting journalists who reported on a press conference held by families of victims of police brutality during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The protests, which took place in August 2024, brought to the fore the issues of poor governance, economic hardship, and systemic challenges in Nigeria.
Families of those killed during the demonstrations used the press conference, organized by the Victims Support Initiative Nigeria (VSIN), to demand justice and compensation from the government for the lives lost.
According to Sahara Reporters, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), also known as the State Security Service (SSS), are now pursuing information about the event organizers and the families who spoke.
One journalist revealed that security personnel visited their station after it covered the grievances aired by bereaved parents.
“They were asking for the names of the organizers and the parents who spoke at the press conference,” the journalist disclosed.
During the conference, Yahya Ibrahim, whose five-year-old son was killed by a stray police bullet in their family compound, spoke emotionally about the tragedy.
“This was not an accident but a failure of governance and accountability. We demand justice for all innocent lives lost,” he said.
Fatima Yusuf, coordinator of VSIN, also called on the government to establish an independent judicial panel to investigate the incidents and provide compensation for the victims’ families.
“These families deserve justice, not silence,” she said.
