Protesters in Nigeria face possible death penalty as accusation of treason brings outrage

ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 10 protesters in Nigeria faced a possible death penalty on Monday after being charged with treason over their participation in recent demonstrations against the country’s worst-in-a-generation economic crisis.

The protesters were arraigned in the capital, Abuja, and accused of acting “with intent to destabilize Nigeria … and intimidate the president” during the protests. They pleaded not guilty and will remain in prison until a Sept. 11 bail hearing.

A British citizen was named among the suspects still at large. The British High Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nigeria police spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi accused Andrew Wynne of working with the protesters as a foreign mercenary and building “a network of sleeper cells to topple the government and plunge the nation into chaos.” He did not provide any evidence to back up the claim.

At least 22 protesters were shot dead by security forces during the demonstrations, Amnesty International has said. Authorities have denied it. The Associated Press confirmed at least three killings.

Little is known about the fate of hundreds of other protesters arrested.

There have been growing concerns in Nigeria about human rights abuses under the government of President Bola Tinubu, who was elected last year after promising positive change.

The protesters were charged under Nigeria’s Penal Code, which critics have described as one of the country's harshest laws and one used by authorities to clamp down on dissent. The treason charge carries the death penalty.

The trial was widely condemned in Nigeria.

“Some of the charges show how far Nigerian authorities can go in misusing the criminal justice system to silence critical voices. These are blatantly trumped-up charges that must be immediately withdrawn,” Amnesty country director Isa Sanusi said in a statement.