Amnesty International has strongly condemned the violent attack on renowned Nigerian filmmaker Don Pedro Obaseki in Benin City, Edo State, describing it as both barbaric and unlawful.
The human rights organization also called on the Nigerian police to investigate the incident.
Obaseki was reportedly attacked and stripped by a group of thugs on Sunday at Uwa Primary School, where he had gone to play football.
Viral footage captured him being dragged through the streets following alleged comments he made at a public event.
Reacting via its official X account on Monday, Amnesty International decried the “barbaric and unlawful abduction and humiliation” of the filmmaker.
“The palace of the Oba of Benin where he was dragged to in utter disregard for human dignity and the rule of law must distance itself from such bizarre impunity,” the organization said.
Amnesty further stated, “What happened to Mr. Obaseki is unlawful and shows complete disdain for due process. The Nigerian police must investigate the incident and ensure that all those suspected of involvement in this crime are brought to justice. What happened in Benin City on Sunday is unacceptable in a free society. It is also prohibited under international human rights law and standards aimed at safeguarding human dignity and protecting people from violence.”
Obaseki, who is also a cousin to former Governor of Edo State Godwin Obaseki and the former Managing Director of Daar Communications, shared his harrowing ordeal with the public.
“Today at about 11–11:30, while playing football with my football mates at UBA Primary School in Benin, the place was attacked by assailants. I was physically abducted, basically kidnapped. Some of them were holding guns and some of them were non-folks. I have their names,” he said.
Obaseki recounted how he was dragged through the streets under the claim that he had been sent for by the palace of the Oba of Benin. “I begged them to show me some form of ID. I was dragged, beaten severely, manhandled, and dragged through the streets up to where I was stripped naked and taken into the palace of the Oba of Benin, where I was made to kneel in public.”
Reflecting on the experience, he said, “I have never been so humiliated because I am who I am, because of my nativity. I have served my culture. I don’t know what to say. I was later released and taken to the police station, where the Commissioner of Police came within two hours. He came to see me three times before he ordered my release from the police station at Oba Market. From the chiefs I met at the palace, it was clear they did not send these people on this mission.”
Obaseki suggested that the attack may have been fueled by a cultural misunderstanding. “I am traumatised. And I heard that my sin was that I went to London and made a public statement that ‘May Edo people live long and prosper.’ That I should have said, ‘May the Oba live long and prosper.’ That my saying ‘may Edo people live long and prosper’ is a cardinal sin in Benin, for me who have elevated the culture of the Benin race in my 35 to 40 years as the pioneer of the present.”
