- Don’t Deny Nigerians Right To Protest, Amnesty International Cautions
- Likely To Be Hijacked, UN Warns
- We’ll Respond Professionally – IG
President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, appealed to Nigerian youths to shelve plans to carry out protests.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents after a meeting with the President.
According to Idris, the President does not see any need for protest, as he had listened to them and asked them to await government’s response to all their pleas.
“Mr President has asked me to again inform Nigerians that he listens to them, especially the young people that are trying to protest.
“Mr President listens to them, he takes what they say seriously and he is working assiduously to ensure that this country is good not just for today but also for the future,” he said.
He said the government was doing a lot of things to cushion the hardship experienced by Nigerians.
“Today, the National Assembly has expeditiously passed the bill on National Minimum Wage. You can see how the President is working, it was transmitted only yesterday and today it has been passed. “A lot of other interventions that the President has put in place are also going to be looked at expeditiously in the interest of Nigerians.
“So, there is no need for protest, the young people out there should listen to the President and allow him more time to see to the realisation of all the goodies he has for them,” Idris said. The minister said the highlights of other policies to cushion the effect of the hardship Nigerians were feeling included distribution of grains and rice by the Federal Government to state governments.
“Like I said that time it is just the necessary first step. Government is going to continue in that direction, assuring that whatever intervention the Federal Government has put in place will go to those that should benefit.
“The Federal Government is looking at strategies that every intervention will go directly to those who benefit from those interventions not middle men intercepting them along the way,” he said.
He added that another important intervention by the Federal Government was the students loan.
“Mr President is very passionate about it, that everyone that should go to school will have the opportunity to do so.
“It is no longer a time for our young men and women who have passed examinations to go to tertiary institutions not to be able to do that because their parents cannot pay for their fees,” said the minister.
He said the government was also perfecting a scheme to support graduates of universities and polytechnics that were not able to get jobs until they got employed.
“The whole idea is that no one is left behind, it is an all inclusive government and the President is determined to ensure that no one is left behind in this attempt to march Nigeria towards progress,” said Idris. (NAN)
…. Don’t Deny Nigerians Right To Protest –Amnesty International Cautions Tinubu
Meanwhile, the Amnesty International, (AI), has cautioned President Bola Tinubu’s administration against threatening Nigerians planning to protest against the current hardship and hunger in the country.
AI warned that threatening intended peaceful protesters is unlawful, adding that Nigerians have the constitutional right to protest. Recall that Nigerians have been charged to file out in August to protest against Tinubu’s government following the bad economic situation in the country.
Following the call, Tinubu’s media aide, Dada Olusegun warned that the intending protesters would meet the strongest resistance of their lives if they opt to protest against the Nigerian government.
Olusegun warned that those who gave Tinubu the mandate to rule the country would strongly resist the protest. Reacting, AI posted on X:” Threatening peaceful protesters is unlawful. It is a clear attack on freedom of assembly — which is guaranteed by international law and Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution:
”Nigerians must not be denied the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to peaceful protest; through veiled threats of violence and false insinuations.”
….. Planned Protests Likely To Be Hijacked, Un Warns
In a related development, the United Nations (UN), department of safety and security has warned that the planned protests in Nigeria may be hijacked by groups with ulterior motives.
In a threat and risk assessment finding dated July 19, the UN expressed concerns about the possibility of violence, citing past instances where similar protests in Nigeria escalated. “Recall that in the 13–16 February 2023 interval, tensions generated by the paucity of new Naira currency (financial crisis) reached high levels amongst the civilian population, which materialized in violent protests in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria, in the states of Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, and Rivers,” the threat and risk assessment reads.
“During the civil unrest in the different states, several bank branches and ATM points were vandalized, and major roads were blocked.
“As the turnout for the ’10 days of rage’ protest is expected to be high, large-scale disruptions to normal economic and social activities cannot be discounted.”
The threat assessment also showed that confrontations between groups supporting the government and those disagreeing with its policies cannot be ruled out from the end of July towards August 10-15.
“While acknowledging the economic hardship in the country, some organizations and leaders of ethnic groups (especially in South-South and South-East) were discouraging participation in any of the 1-10 August protests (E.g. ỌhanaezeNdigbo, a socio-cultural organization in Nigeria, claiming to represent the interests of all Igbos),” the UN said.
“This highlights the possibility of the events being hijacked by other interest groups/detractors, thus complicating the security landscape of different areas.”
Those calling for the protests are asking for a reverse of some policies implemented by President Bola Tinubu believed to have engendered hardship in the country.
…We’ll Respond To Planned Protest Professionally –IG
The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Olukayode Egbetokun, has said the Nigeria Police would respond to the Aug. 1 planned protest by some Nigerians, “in a most professional manner”.
Egbetokun said this, yesterday, in Abuja during a meeting with Strategic Police Managers, consisting of officers from the rank of Commissioners of Police and above.
He said the meeting with the Strategic Police Managers was to share intelligence from the various Police Commands in the country and analyse same for the security of the country. “So we are prepared and I want to assure you that we will manage the protest in the most professional manner,” he said. The I-G said the police would remain committed to provide security for those that would engage in peaceful protest. “If the protest is peaceful, you will see us protecting the protesters as long as they remain peaceful.
“But we have a duty to protect lives and property, so we will not sit back and watch hoodlums burning down facilities in the name of protest.
“So, we are not against peaceful protest, we will support peaceful protest by protecting those who will engage in peaceful protest,” he said.
He said the task of maintaining law and order during the protest would not be a challenge if the protesters engaged in peaceful protest.
According to him, it becomes a challenge if the protest is violent. (NAN)
