…..FG action undermining democracy, says activists
FROM KUNLE ADELABI, LAGOS
Barely two weeks after the end of the 10 days nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest, Human right lawyer, Femi Falana has accused the federal government of detaining not fewer than 2,111 of the arrested protesters at the various government prisons across the country
Falana, who is the lawyer for one the groups that staged the protest, ‘Take It Back’ also said about 1,403 of that number have been arraigned in various courts, adding that the suspects were ordered to be remanded in prison custody due to a lack of legal representation, whereas the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, had publicly announced its intention to provide lawyers to defend them
This is even as about six of the detained #ENDSAARS protesters in 2020 were discharged and acquitted on Thursday by a Lagos state court
Fulana, who made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday, also called on the federal government to either release the arrested protesters or charge them to court and styop the ongoing denial of their human right
In the statement, entitled ‘HALT THE CLAMPDOWN ON PROTESTERS’, Falana also said: “Seven Polish students, who were taking part in an exchange programme in Bayero University, Kano, were arrested for taking photographs during the protest.
“They may be charged with espionage to give the impression that the protests were instigated by foreign interest groups.”
On the arrested and detained protesters, Falana demanded that
“Whenever the suspects are going to be arraigned, they must be given adequate notice to be able to contact the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and their family members to make arrangements for their defence.
He further gave a breakdown of the distribution of protesters arrested who are detained across the states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja as follows
1. Kano — 873
2. Jigawa
3. Katsina–120;
. Gombe — 111
5. Sokoto — 110
6. Borno — 99
7. Yobe — 90
8. Bauchi-60
9. Plateau — 51
10. Kaduna — 50
11. FCT — 50
12. Nasarawa — 40
13. Niger — 25
14. Zamfara — 19
15. Cross Rivers — 10
He stated further that, “We have also confirmed that individual lawyers who had applied for the bail of the detained suspects in police stations were not informed that they were going to be arraigned in the courts.
“We submit that the decision of the authorities to deny the suspects legal representation constitutes a violent breach of their fundamental right to fair hearing guaranteed by section 36 of the Constitution and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement)
“This is highly discriminatory and illegal on the ground that politically exposed persons who are arrested for looting the treasury to the tune of several billions of Naira are usually informed in advance of the dates and of their arraignment in the courts.
“Such highly placed suspected looters are always granted bail in liberal terms and even authorised by trial judges to travel abroad for medical treatment.
“The offence allegedly committed by the 783 suspects arrested in Kano is that they displayed the Russian flag during the protest.
“A tailor who was sowing the flag was also arrested by the police. It may be difficult to press charges against the suspects in a country where the flags of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and other European countries are hoisted by the majority of hotels in Nigeria while Churches hoist the flag of Israel based on the erroneous belief that it is a Christian country.”
Describing the alleged illegal detention of the arresters protesters as undermining the nation’s democracy, another Human rights lawyer T.N. Abdulsalam strongly criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for detaining #EndBadGovernance protesters without trial.
Abdulsalam in a statement on Thursday, urged the President to release the detainees, emphasizing that they should not be punished for exercising their constitutional rights.
He accused the federal government of misplacing its priorities, questioning why bandits and kidnappers are allowed to roam free while peaceful protesters are detained, even as he cited the recent killing of the district head of Gatawa in Sokoto State by bandits, highlighting the government’s failure to address security challenges.
The Human right lawyer, who accused President Tinubu of hypocrisy, given his past as a pro-democracy activist, warned that the President’s actions might lead to a fascist state, and Nigerians will resist any attempt to undermine democracy.
The statement reads, “The President should confront the security challenges and hunger besetting Nigerians. Those who should be in prison are the political class trafficking in Nigerians’ misery. We have a situation where bandits like Bello Turji and others openly threaten Nigerians and deny them access to their farms, yet the government does nothing to curtail them, while they kill and detain harmless protesters. Recently, bandits kidnapped and brutally killed the district head of Gatawa in Sokoto State, and the Federal Government could not do anything to rescue him.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should build more prisons and renovate the existing ones because he will have to jail all Nigerians as time goes on. The National Assembly and Judiciary have been pocketed, but Nigerians will resist any attempt to turn Nigeria into a fascist state.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reminds me of the ancient book written by George Orwell, Animal Farm, where the animals that led a revolution against an oppressive government eventually became worse oppressors. It is unfortunate that he can oppose civil liberties, from which he benefited in the days of the military.
“I want to call on him to immediately release the #EndBadGovernance protesters and focus on issues of security and hunger besetting Nigerians.”