In a now acquainted situation, the Nigerian authorities has arraigned about 10 individuals arrested in reference to the #EndbadGovernance protests that hit main cities in August and charged them with treason.
The police arraigned them on the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Abuja, the place they pleaded not responsible to all six fees of conspiracy to commit treason, trying to destabilise Nigeria, looking for to take away the president, waging battle in opposition to the federal government, and inciting mutiny.
In accordance with the fees, the protesters did these by attacking and injuring law enforcement officials and torching police stations, the Excessive Courtroom Advanced, NCC Advanced, Kano Printing Press, Authorities Home Kano, Kaduna Funding and Promotions Company Workplace, NURTW Workplace and “a number of different buildings”.
The Federal Excessive Courtroom in Abuja had set a bail listening to on September 11 for the ten protesters charged. They embrace Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye (aka Lenin), 28; Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi (aka Yomi), 34; and Suleiman Yakubu, 28. Others are Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, 50; and Angel Love Harmless (the one feminine amongst them), 51.
The ten protesters have been among the many 124 folks arrested in Abuja and different states, together with Kano and Kaduna, after the protests to finish financial hardship, principally brought on by the dual insurance policies of gas subsidy removing, hike in electrical energy tariffs, and devaluation of the naira, which despatched costs of meals and different important gadgets hitting unprecedented excessive ranges. If convicted, the protesters might face a potential loss of life penalty or lengthy jail sentences.
However that’s the place President Bola Tinubu’s authorities might face extreme issues as a result of Nigerians will not be about to be cowed by the federal government’s tactic to intimidate the general public because it has imposed one other gas value hike on Nigerians.
We contemplate it ironic that President Bola Tinubu, as an opposition politician, was a grasp strategist in organising protests in opposition to earlier authorities insurance policies.
Nonetheless, given the possible end result of this transfer, we urge the federal government to rethink its ill-advised resolution to cost protesters with treason. It might ship an alarming message about its intolerance for dissent. As an alternative of slamming protesters with a criminal offense punishable by loss of life, the federal government ought to recognize that Nigerians have the precise to freedom of expression and exhibit once they really feel sufficiently aggrieved.
There are stories that the police authorities could also be utilizing unorthodox strategies to extract data from the accused individuals. Though we’ve not been in a position to independently confirm these stories, it is very important let the authorities realise that in a democracy, Nigerians have sure basic rights, as assured within the structure, together with the precise to protest any anti-people insurance policies.Earlier than their arraignment, the defendants had spent greater than three weeks in police custody following their arrests in Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna between 1 and 10 August.
Already, Amnesty Worldwide, a nongovernmental organisation, in an announcement, urged the federal government to launch the defendants detained from 1 to 10 August, including, “We urge the Nigerian authorities to finish this mockery of the rule of regulation,”
It continued, “Amnesty Worldwide is deeply involved that the #EndBadGovernaceInNigeria protesters arraigned nationwide are solely going to be subjected to a different spherical of presidency’s unrelenting intent to punish protesters and demonise protests.”
Whereas that is occurring, the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has been out and in of safety companies’ custody. He was arrested on the Nnamdi Azikiwe Worldwide Airport on his method to the UK to attend a Labour-related convention.
The headquarters of NLC had additionally been besieged in a barely veiled try and justify the harassment of the labour motion alleged to be behind the #EndbadGovernance protest.
Additionally, operatives of the Directorate of State Providers (DSS), just lately unleashed their venom on the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Venture (SERAP) and laid siege to its workplace in Abuja.
Already, these assaults on protesters and dissenting teams have continued to obtain widespread condemnations from different rights teams and attorneys who understand what’s going on as a big risk to the basic pillars of democracy.
In our opinion, whereas the federal government has the constitutional proper to keep up regulation and order, it is usually crucial for it to simply accept that the persons are entitled to voice their grievances in opposition to state operatives inside the limits allowable by the identical regulation.
On this circumstance, we’re persuaded to warn that any try and muzzle dissent may very well be counterproductive. Nigerians usually view authorities insurance policies as inflicting extreme hardship on the folks.
The pervasive meals and power crises can’t be denied. Nigerians are solely reacting to the ache they really feel within the hope that the federal government will discover and ameliorate their sufferings. Criminalising real emotions of ache is an inappropriate response not anticipated of a authorities that claims to have the folks’s curiosity at coronary heart.
