A non-governmental organisation, Spaces for Youth Development and Social Change, has warned that the clampdown on peaceful #EndBadGovernance protesters which resulted in some deaths in parts of the country, was a violation of rights to assembly.
A statement by executive director of the organisation, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri urged the government to respect the rights of the #EndBadGovernance protesters as they are entitled to the full constitutional guarantees of free expression, free association and free assembly as guaranteed under Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
The statement reads in part, “Substantiated media reports reveal that protesters who began their largely peaceful protests across the country today, August 1, are currently experiencing violent attacks and violations of their human rights in various locations. We strongly condemn these attacks on citizens for exercising their civic responsibilities.
“Security operatives have used excessive force on peaceful protesters, causing grievous bodily harm, including deaths in some locations [such as Borno State, Kano State, Delta State, Lagos State, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja].
“Shootings, arrests, indiscriminate firing of live bullet rounds and teargas have been used to disperse unarmed protesters comprising mostly young people who are disillusioned and discontented by the rising unemployment, poverty, hunger and hardship in the country. Cutting down young people in their prime for expressing their disapproval of governance and socio-economic challenges that are adversely affecting them completely violates Nigeria’s obligations under national and international human rights standards.
“Long before the protests, Nigerians had been using various channels to voice their dissatisfaction with the design and implementation of several policies and programs, which caused significant economic hardships and security woes across the nation. The protests merely provided arenas for citizens to congregate and ventilate these grievances in a coordinated manner.
“Protecting citizens who are expressing their anger legitimately is consistent with the government’s constitutional obligation to protect the welfare and security of all citizens. These gruesome attacks on citizens by state and non-state actors represent a dereliction of this constitutional responsibility and an attack on the civic space.
“As we continue to monitor the events through our civic space network, we urge the Government at the Federal and State levels respectively, to take immediate steps to protect protesters from further attacks and listen to the legitimate yearnings of citizens. We further demand the immediate release of journalists unlawfully arrested while discharging their journalistic duties.
“We remind once again that Nigeria is a democratic country. Free speech, free assembly, and free association are the pillars upon which democracy rests.”