As the 10-day #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest enters its 7th day, a coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) under the aegis of the United Action Front of Civil Societies ( TUAF) again, has condemned the use of force on, intimidation and unlawful abduction of, peaceful protesters by security agents across the country .
In a press statement this morning (Wednesday, August 7), signed by its national head, Coordinating Secretariat, Olawale Okunniyi, the Coalition said that from its protest field monitors in Abuja, Lagos and other Nigerian cities, it has been established that both security agents and politically-sponsored thugs have consistently disrupted and dispersed lawful assemblies of peaceful protesters at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, the FCT, and Freedom Square Ojota, Lagos State and other designated places for the protest as ordered by an Abuja High Court.
The Coalition complained that the venues which were designated by the court for the anti-hunger protesters have, for no reason at all, been invaded by gun-wielding security operatives who routinely use unwarranted force on civil protesters, thereby oppressing law-abiding citizens.
“Reports also have it that some leaders of the protest in Abuja, including Mr. Micheal Lenin, among others, are still being detained and tortured by the security agents, who abducted them from their residences in the dead of the night, following their open criticisms of President Bola Tinubu’s address to the nation.
“For us, it’s quite sad that Nigeria is beginning to operate a police state under a democratic regime as in the dark days of Military juntas,” the Coalition said in a statement.
“In order to avoid further umbrage of the citizens, we call on security agents to immediately release Lenin and others, who are still being illegally detained by the State, so as not to drive the popular and open protestations of the citizens underground and turn them into violent engagements of the State as history has proven that those who make peaceful protests impossible for citizens, have always made violent ones inevitable.
“Again, our observations of the protests in Lagos, especially in Alausa, Lekki and Ojota axis have shown connivance between security agents and sponsored hoodlums who randomly unleash mayhem on peaceful protesters with hard objects and teargas cannisters, injuring several unarmed and defenceless protesters in the process.
“Similarly, as leaders of the conscience of our country, we frown heavily at this resort to violence by the police in most northern states as well as the use of curfews to frustrate the civil rights of citizens to express their dissatisfaction with government policies in the country, contrary to the assurances given to us by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun during our consultative meeting with him last week.
“Consequently, we find the growing show of force by security agents and the undemocratic use of state power by sub national authorities unacceptable and subversive of the democratic will of the citizens and, therefore, call on the President to immediately intervene by calling those involved to order, while initiating dialogue with protest leaders on their key demands as announced in his address to the nation before the situation gets out of hand”.
