MOBILISERS for the #EndBadGovernance protest held across Nigeria from August 1 to 10 this year have said that Nigerians have the right to request the support of any country in their effort to end bad governance in the nation.
The mobilisers, at a press briefing in Abuja, on Wednesday, August 13, defended citizens’ decision to raise the Russian flag, as widely witnessed during the protest in the northern part of the country, noting that Nigerians had the right to raise any country’s flag during the demonstrations.
Working under the aegis of Network of Abuja Left Group, the group includes representatives from the Initiator, Creative Change Centre, Omole Ibukun; Movement for a Socialist, Akande Daniel; Take it Back Movement, Sydney Godwin; Advocate for a New Nigeria, James Nenge and Gerald Katchy of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).
They argued that displaying foreign flags, including Russia’s, is an expression of Nigerians’ constitutional right to free speech and solidarity with global struggles against bad governance.
“We must state this clearly that any protester in part of the world has the right to raise the flag or demand for any available international support, to support their democratic right to protest or whatever they are protesting for in their country. It is not unpatriotic. It is not undemocratic. It is the right of those Nigerians who raised the Russian flag to raise it,” said the group.
When asked for comment on reported frozen accounts of the protest organisers, he questioned if they looked like people who had $38 million the federal government claimed it seized from the organisers.
“Do we look like people who have N83 billion in their account?, they queried.
This was as they lampooned President Bola Tinubu, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Nigeria Army, over their actions to suppress peaceful protesters.
The group, consisting of representatives from five civil society organisations (CSOs) also demanded the immediate scrapping of the State Security Service (SSS) the sacking of the IGP, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
While condemning the attack on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) national office in Abuja, the group invited the labour union and other workers in the country for an indefinite massive nationwide protest coming up soon.
Mobilisers demands
While demanding the release of all arrested individuals, they also outlined a series of other demands, including the suspension of the Counter-Subversion Bill.
According to the group, Tinubu’s administration, which they claimed have been draconian, doesn’t want a dialogue in the first place, noting that each of the protesters’ demands must be met before any dialogue could be held.
The mobilisers challenged Tinubu to an open debate to discuss the feasibility of his government meeting demands, which include the return of fuel subsidy and electricity tariffs to pre-May 2023 levels, the restoration of the old minimum wage, and significant investment in public infrastructure, especially education and healthcare.
They urged Nigerians to reject any attempts by the government to dissuade them from participating in the movement, adding that the protests represented a collective effort to bring about real change in Nigeria.
Rejection of alleged counter-subversion bill
Similarly, the protest mobilisers criticised the proposed Counter-Subversion Bill 2024, describing it as a draconian law intended to silence opposition.
“To show that all of the recent repression is not in the interest of national security, the House of Representatives recently introduced a Counter-Subversion Bill 2024.
“This Counter Subversion Bill 2024 is a draconian piece of legislation that claims to impose harsh penalties on people involved in separatist agitations or actions that incite inter-group conflicts, but this bill is a clear attempt to silence dissent voices, stifle the political expression of unions and activist organisations like ours, and maintain the status quo of oppression and inequality,” the group added.
Group threatens to continue nationwide protest, invites NLC
While condemning the attacks on the NLC national office, they urged the union to mobilise its members nationwide to support a second phase of the protest.
“The Inspector General of Police’s justification for the raid on the Nigeria Labour Congress building, citing intelligence about a suspect involved in the Sudan crisis, is a thinly veiled pretext for suppressing dissent.
“This narrative is particularly concerning given the government’s history of using ‘national security as a justification for silencing political opponents and social movements.”
They warned that continued repression would only strengthen the resolve of the movement, which they described as a legitimate struggle for the rights and well-being of all Nigerians.
Decry of arbitrary detention of protesters
In response to the alleged detention of Michael Lenin and other #EndBadGovernance protesters, the group condemned the state’s use of force against peaceful demonstrators and the abduction of key figures involved in the protests.
They expressed concern over the worsening human rights situation, accusing the government of resorting to intimidation tactics to suppress dissent.
The group claimed Lenin, along with others like Mosiu Sodiq had been held without charges, subjected to inhumane treatment, and denied access to legal representation.
Lenin, one of the mobilisers for the protests, was allegedly abducted by security forces in a midnight operation sanctioned by the National Security Adviser, according to the mobilisers.
“Therefore, the attempt to link Comrade Micheal Lenin, the National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign, to some form of foreign-sponsored terrorism because of his political name is not only far-fetched but also farcical and laughable. Comrade Lenin was arrested in the most inhumane manner. He was blindfolded and handcuffed to the back for almost half of a day, and dumped in a freezingly cold cell room where they are followed around by brutal and unstable police IRT officials, even when they want to use the toilet,” the mobilisers said.
The ICIR reported that the SSS and the police had since denied the arrest and detention of Lenin.
The SSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, refuted the allegation while fielding questions from journalists, on August 6. “In the case of Comrade Opaoluwa, a trade union leader at the electricity union NUEE, he was picked up by the same squad several days to the protests for being one of the potential sponsors of the protests and dumped at the Police IRT in Abuja like others,” the mobilisers said.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M