A cross-section of Nigerians, political and socio-cultural groups have expressed displeasure over an order by the Nigeria Police cancelling the February 6 nationwide anti-government protests organized by singer, Innocent Idibia, popularly called Tuface.
Tuface, the organizer of the protests tagged Occupy Nigeria, had said the planned protests were to draw the attention of the present government to the hardship in the country as a result of high inflation rate, shortage of food and other social problems. They are scheduled to hold simultaneously in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.
The Nigeria Police on Friday called on the conveners of the protests to call off their planned gathering, saying it might lead to a breakdown of law and order.
The force said it learnt that apart from the protests being planned by Idibia, other interest groups were also planning a counter-protest, which might lead to clashes and attendant loss of lives.
A statement by the police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, at 10:28pm on Friday, said it recognized the right of the citizens to protest, but added that it was necessary for the two groups to call off their protests.
It read, “The Nigeria Police is currently in possession of credible intelligence reports that other interest groups are equally planning to hold a counter-protest on the same day at the same places as the Tuface group. If these various planned protests are held as scheduled, there may be breakdown of law and order, with attendant loss of lives and property.
Earlier, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Mr. Laolu Akande, had said in an interview with one of our correspondents that “Nigeria is a free country. Lawful assembly is permitted (for Nigerians) to express themselves.
“This administration is not in the business of stopping people’s rights. The most important thing is to ensure a peaceful assembly.”
When asked specifically if the Presidency was not concerned that the Abuja protest is scheduled to take place on a day Buhari is expected to resume work, Akande said, “They are free to protest any day they choose.”
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, and the FCT Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Mustafa, had earlier on Friday warned the organizers against the planned protests, saying that they stood the risk of being arrested.
And while Owoseni later on Friday said that his command had reached an agreement with the organizers of the rally scheduled to hold on Monday, his FCT counterpart, Mustafa, had cautioned Tuface against holding a similar rally in Abuja.
He had said, “The command wants to advise the conveners of such a protest to jettison any plan of carrying out the protest on the streets of FCT as it is capable of breaching the peaceful atmosphere.”
However, Nigerians lambasted the Presidency and made reference to a protest successfully held on November 19, 2014 by chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, including Buhari; Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; and former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi (now Minister of Transportation).
They described protest as a right enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution, adding that it would be hypocritical for the government that came to power on the back of rallies to now stop Nigerians from holding peaceful protests.
The President Emeritus of Aka Ikenga, an Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Yinka Odumakin and Secretary-General, Sehinde Arogbofa, all spoke against the warning given by the Nigerian Police to stop the rallies.
The spokesperson for the Ijaw Youth Congress, Mr. Eric Omare, said it was ironic that the President Buhari–led government, “which came into power based on protests against the former President,” would try to prevent Nigerians from protesting.
He described the move as anti-people and an infringement on the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.
President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Mr. Yerima Shettima, opined that it “would be out of place for any commissioner of police under a democratic government to threaten to subdue peaceful protesters with state powers.”
“It is no story that certain things are not right in the government and Nigerians are very angry. If you deprive people of the right to protest, automatically, what you are doing is killing them and denying them the right to talk and the consequences of that will be unimaginable,” he said.
National Publicity Secretary, Nigeria Advance Party, Mr. Tosin Odeyemi, also condemned Buhari and his aides for allegedly using the police to muzzle people with dissenting voices.
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights also warned against any attempt by the police to stop the planned protest.