Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has condemned the federal authorities for restricting journalists that covered the court trial of Nnamdi Kanu, Indigenous Peoples of Biafran (IPOB) leader.

Peoples Gazette had earlier reported that two foreigners were arrested for taking pictures of the court from the balcony of an hotel adjacent the Abuja Federal High Court where Mr Kanu case was held.

Also, the State Security Service banned the legal representatives of Mr Kanu, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, from gaining access to the court room, undermining his rights as a legal representative.

Amnesty International in a statement on its official Twitter page, condemned the federal authorities for selecting few journalists to cover the trial today in Abuja.

The organisation also called on the federal authorities to lift the unlawful restrictions and allow other media outlets have access to information.

“Amnesty International condemns Nigerian authorities’ restriction of the number of journalists that can report the trial of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, which started today in Abuja,” @AmnestyNigeria tweeted.

“Selecting few journalists to cover the trial is a restriction on access to information and an attempt to deny people the right to know. It also violates all fair hearing guarantees.”

“We call on the Nigerian authorities to respect the right to fair hearing and immediately lift the restriction and allow the media unhindered access to the court to do their job. This is yet another bizarre and unacceptable attack on the Nigerian media that must not stand,” the statement added.