ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — 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 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 a 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 These are blatantly trumped-up charges that must be immediately withdrawn,” Amnesty country director Isa Sanusi said in a statement.
Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed.
file - Police fire tear gas during a protest in Abuja, Nigeria, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga, file)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a new regulator is considered to be “Government interference” in the sport.
In a letter sent by UEFA to the U.K.'s new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, European soccer's governing body raised concerns about a proposed independent football regulator (IFR) in English soccer. The regulatory will ensure the financial sustainability of clubs and stop teams from joining breakaway competitions like the European Super League.
UEFA regulations state there should be no government interference in the running of soccer.
“We have specific rules that guard against this in order to guarantee the autonomy of sport and fairness of sporting competition; the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from UEFA and teams from competition,” UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote in his letter, which has been seen by The Associated Press.
England, which has been runner-up in the last two European Championships, is co-hosting the 2028 edition of the tournament.
If UEFA imposed its ultimate sanction of excluding the English Football Association, the England team would be barred from competing in the Euros. It could also mean Premier League clubs being barred from the Champions League and other competitions.
The U.K. government’s Football Governance Bill would give an independent regulator powersto safeguard the future of clubs. It includes strengthened tests over who can run or own clubs.
In its letter, UEFA said “normally football regulation should be managed by the national federation.”
It said it was concerned by what it described as “scope creep” by a regulator into areas beyond “the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.”
UEFA said if all countries established regulators with wide-reaching powers it would hinder its ability to maintain effective governance across Europe. It wants England's regulator to be “strictly limited” to the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.
A U.K. government spokesperson said “the Football Governance Bill will establish a new Independent Football Regulator that will put fans back at the heart of the game, and tackle fundamental governance problems to ensure that English football is sustainable for the benefit of the clubs’ communities going forward.”
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - The UEFA Euro trophy is pictured after Britain and Ireland were elected to host the Euro 2028 football tournament during the the UEFA EURO 2028 and 2032 hosts announcement ceremony after the UEFA Executive Committee, at UEFA Headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland, Oct. 10, 2023. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)
