Global Rights calls on the Nigerian government to respect its citizens’ right to protest and desist from further aggravating protesters across the country. It also calls on protesters to be law-abiding and peaceful in their conduct.
We note that the first day of the #EndBadGovernance Protest was fraught with violence both on the side of the government and protesters, with several incidents of violence and human rights violations. Initial reports indicate that at least 20 people are dead following the protests.
The protests, which are a manifestation of citizens’ frustration with the government and political class’ maladministration of the country’s assets, economy, and security, began on the 1st of August 2024 and its organisers have estimated that it may last for 10 days.
It is important to acknowledge that the protesters are not being flippant. Nigeria is facing one of its worst inflations, exacerbating the quality of life of more than 63% of its population, which the nation’s Bureau of Statistics describes as being multidimensionally poor. The inflation has aggravated the twin maladies of deprivation and unemployment and further pushed large swaths of the population into unbearable levels of poverty. The protests are channels of citizens’ demand for accountability and for the fulfilment of the government’s constitutional duty of ensuring the security and welfare of all citizens(S14(2)(b) Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria), and ensuring that its policies are humane (S17(2)(c) Nigerian Constitution).
The government’s range of responses to the protests have done little to restore trust or assuage their frustrations. Rather than listen to their demands, it has for the past few weeks invested in a plethora of activities to gag protesters through scare tactics, obtaining court orders barring or limiting the freedom of assembly, and supporting counter-protests against them even before they began.
Having been notified weeks before the protests, the failure of the government to guarantee their right to dissent only worsened an already precarious situation. For instance, nothing justifies the use of live bullets in Kaduna, Niger, Kano, and Borno states when restless gatherings could have been dispersed through less violent means. The result was the avoidable killing of protesters in these places. We also noted the unlawful arrest of peaceful protesters in Delta, Abuja, and Lagos states, and the unjustified use of teargas to disperse protesters in Abuja and Niger state.
The media, constitutionally mandated to hold the powerful accountable, were not spared. In Lagos and Abuja, some journalists reported being barred by security agents from accessing protesters. Several journalists including the Chair of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Abuja chapter, Mr. Jide Oyekunle, were harassed or detained. In some instances, their phones and cameras were seized or destroyed.
While in most parts of the country, the protests have been peaceful, there have been pockets of violence, with unscrupulous elements taking advantage of the situation to loot and vandalize public property, especially in Kano and Jigawa states. The situation in Kano degenerated into a riot, in which miscreants destroyed public infrastructure and looted government buildings. Pockets of protesters across the country were also aggravated by the response of law enforcement agents to the protests, predictably inflaming an already tenuous situation.
It is apparent to any keen observer that the actions of the Government over the next few days will determine whether these protests, which were intended to be peaceful, will become anarchic. The Nigerian government will therefore be wise to change its posture and responses to the protests. Protests are a universally recognized tool of social engineering in a democracy. They are an expression of the freedom of association, freedom of expression, and right to peaceful assembly. These rights are guaranteed under Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and in several human rights instruments which Nigeria has ratified including Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Unfortunately, these rights are often glossed over when the Nigerian Government crafts its response to protests. A similar response to the #ENDSARS protests in 2020 left at least 246 dead and at least 352 arrested. In order to navigate this trajectory in the nation’s history without further damage to national cohesion, it is our considered opinion that the Government must change course and adopt the notion that even when protests become unruly and chaotic, the government’s reaction must be proportional and consistent with international human rights standards.
Rooted on the foregoing, we issue the following advice to both the government and protesters:
- The immediate cessation of the use of fatal violence aimed at peaceful protesters by Nigerian security agents. The role of law enforcement in a democracy is not to clamp down on people exercising their right to dissent, but rather to ensure their peace and safety when they do so.
- An immediate release of all peaceful protesters without preconditions.
- Law enforcement should refrain from harassing or arresting the press while covering protests.
- The police should abide by the playbook for protest which provides them with guidelines for respectful engagement with protesters.
- Protesters should exercise their right to protest in a peaceful and lawful manner while being mindful of the lives and properties of their fellow citizens.
- Protesters should refrain from unnecessarily aggravating law enforcement agents, who are only fellow citizens engaged in maintaining public order and peace.
- Engender greater transparency and accountability in governance, and create stronger platforms for citizens to engage in their own governance.
- Promote humane, pro-poor policies and urgently seek to address food insecurity.
- Most importantly, rather than seek to quash protests, end bad governance, which is the true cause of the protests.
Global Rights reiterates its commitment to promoting citizens’ rights to participate in their own governance and their right to dissent. We sue all parties to engage peacefully and respectfully. We remain committed to monitoring the current protests and demanding accountability of all involved.
Abiodun Baiyewu
Executive Director