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Reveal your identity, Buhari tells protest sponsors
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We won’t participate in anti-FG protest – Northern group
The
organisers of the #RevolutionNow protests on Sunday met to finalise
preparations for the anti-Federal Government protests they scheduled for Monday
(today).
After
the meetings, which were held in Abuja and Lagos, the organisers said they
would go ahead with the protests, despite the arrest of the convener of the
#RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore.
The
‘RevolutionNow’ organisers said this just as a pro-Buhari group,
#IStandWithBuhari, said it would also embark on a nationwide counter-rally in
support of President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday (today). This, observers noted,
could lead to a clash between the two groups.
Sowore
had declared Monday (today) as the day of the commencement of a revolutionary
protest tagged, “Days of Rage,” across the country to demand a better Nigeria.
But
at 1am on Saturday, operatives of the Department of State Services invaded
Sowore’s house in Lagos and arrested him.
The
Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said Sowore was arrested for
planning a revolution to destabilise the government of Buhari and was liable to
be charged with treasonable felony.
One
of the organisers of the protests and popular musician, Eedris Abdulkareem,
said the ‘RevolutionNow’ demonstration would hold on Monday despite arrest of
Sowore, who is also the publisher of an online news outlet, Sahara Reporters.
Abdulkareem
told The PUNCH that the location of the protests would be communicated to the
media on Monday morning.
The
‘Jagajaga’ crooner, while responding to an inquiry by The PUNCH, said, “Yes, we
are still on course. By 6am on Monday, the information will be communicated to
you.”
When
asked if the protests would take place nationwide, Eedris said, “Yes, it will
hold nationwide on Monday.”
Also,
the Legal Adviser of the African Action Congress, Mr Inibehe Effiong, said the
protests would still go on as planned despite the police threat.
Efiiong
noted that the protesters would converge on the National Stadium, Surulere at
7am.
He
said, “Yes, we will go on with the protests. In fact, we just finished a
meeting on it. We will only meet at the National Stadium for the protests and
it will be peaceful.”
#IStandWithBuhari
group to stage pro-FG protests nationwide today
But
a pro-Buhari group, #IStandWithBuhari, said it would embark on nationwide
protests on Monday.
The
convener of the group, Ogochukwu Ezeaku, told The PUNCH on Sunday that the
protests were being held to counter the narrative that Buhari was not a popular
leader.
He
said they were meeting with the police high command as regards modality and
rules of engagement since the police had said all protests in the FCT must be
confined to the Unity Fountain.
Ezeaku
said, “We are holding demonstrations across the country on Monday. The police
have just called our attention to a release regarding protests. So, we are
supposed to have a meeting with them but it is confirmed that the protests will
hold.”
However,
prominent Nigerians and groups, including the Nobel laureate, Prof Wole
Soyinka; a human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana; and civil rights organisations,
on Sunday supported the #RevolutionNow protests.
Soyinka,
Falana and the groups, in their separate reactions, condemned Sowore’s arrest,
describing it as a travesty.
Soyinka,
in a statement on Sunday, titled, “Not Again!” disagreed with the police,
saying there was nothing in Sowore’s actions or words that meant revolution in
the sense of overthrowing the government.
The
Nobel laureate, who flayed the police for the misuse of the word, ‘revolution,’
said Sowore’s arrest was a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens to
congregate and make their concerns public.
Soyinka
said Sowore’s arrest gave him a sense of déjà vu about how the military junta
of the late General Sani Abacha clamped down on civil protesters, adding that
security agents seemed to have learnt nothing from history.
He
said, “Nothing that he (Sowore) said to me in private engagement ever remotely
approached intent to destabilise governance or bypass the normal democratic
means of changing a government. I, therefore, find the reasons given by the
Inspector-General of Police for the arrest and detention of this young
ex-presidential candidate totally contrived and untenable, unsupported by any
shred of evidence. His arrest is a travesty and violation of the fundamental
rights of citizens to congregate and make public their concerns.
“This
is all so sadly déjà vu. How often must we go through this wearisome cycle? We
underwent identical cynical contrivances under the late, unlamented Sani Abacha,
when he sent storm-troopers to disrupt a planning session for a similar
across-nation march at Tai Solarin School, Ikenne.
“This
was followed up by a personalised letter that was hand-delivered by the State
Security Services to me under their summons, at their Abeokuta so-called
‘Annexe’ with near identical wording to the threats contained in today’s
release from the desk of the Chief of Police. At least, I was summoned, not
subjected to a terrorist midnight arrest. Some irony!
“The
same pattern Pavlovian conduct manifested itself under yet another supposed
democratic ruler who personally declared that the gathering of civilians to
deliberate on, and propose a constitution for the nation was ‘high treason’ and
would be resisted by the full rigour of state power if we persisted.
“The
Inspector-General of Police mobilised his forces and issued inflammatory
proclamations, but PRONACO went ahead despite all the thundering from Aso
citadel. Can the police ever learn anything from their tear-gassing and
brutalising of grieving mothers who marched peacefully to protest the deaths of
their children in a plane crash inferno?
“Their
mission, under that same regime, which was simply to deliver a letter to the
government house in Lagos, demanding greater safety in airline operations, yet
such a rational intent, born of traumatic circumstances, was quashed on the
sidewalks of a supposed twentieth century nation.
“And
yet again, even a faceless cabal under yet another civilian regime refused to
be left out of the insensate play of power. A march on Aso Rock calling for an
end to governance by a ghostly entity was slated to be crushed, but
fortunately, a conflicting balance of interests decided in favour of a reduced
trajectory of protest. And so on and on and on, in a nation which continues to speak
at once through both sides of the mouth, spewing out the same treason monotone,
as if this was a magic incantation that could substitute for the venting of
mass feelings, even as collective therapy.”
Soyinka
said in the light of the tension in the country, arrest and detention of
protesters would be counter-productive.
“If
we cannot learn from the histories and experiences of other societies, let us,
at least, learn from ours. Freedom is not so glibly qualified. It cannot be
doled out like slops of charity from soup kitchens. Let the police stick to
their task of protecting and managing protests, not attempt to place their own
meaning and declaration of intent on bogey words like – revolution,” Soyinka
said.
Falana
also on Sunday condemned the ban of the planned Monday’s protests.
In
a statement on Sunday, Falana said protest marches or call for revolution by
the protesters was never an act of treasonable felony under any law in Nigeria.
He
noted that with the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra in 2017 and
the recent proscription of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, also known as
Shi’ites, there was a dangerous trend categorising the activities of the
critics of President Buhari administration as either terrorism or treasonable
felony.
He
explained that no provisions of section 37 and 41 of the Criminal Code Act, and
the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act or any order law criminalised peaceful
protests or call for revolution as an act of treason, treasonable felony, or
terrorism.
He
noted that the Nigeria Police Force had only capitalised on the use of the word
“revolution” to criminalise the planned protests.
He
wondered why the leaders of the All Progressives Congress were not charged for
claiming to have terminated the Peoples Democratic Party’s rule through
“democratic revolution” in 2015.
He
said, “From the above definitions of treason, treasonable felony and terrorism,
it is crystal clear that the organisers of the peaceful rallies cannot be said
to have planned to engage in acts of terrorism or formed an intention to remove
President Muhammadu Buhari from office.
“The
intention of the organisers of the rallies to protest the worsening security
situation in the country, demand payment of N30,000 minimum wage to workers and
job creation for our army of unemployed youths e.t.c. cannot by any stretch of
imagination be said to constitute terrorism or treason in any material
particular.
“No
doubt, the Nigeria Police Force has capitalised on the use of the word
“revolution” to criminalise the protests. If revolution has become a criminal
offence in Nigeria why were the leaders of the APC not charged for claiming to
have carried out Nigeria’s democratic revolution which terminated the 16-year
rule of the PDP in 2015? Why was Dr Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, the presidential
candidate of the Young Progressive Party not threatened with treason when he
asked Nigerians to rise up for revolution via the 2019 general elections?
“Did
all Nigerian senators led by the APC members not commit treason or terrorism
when they spent one and a half hours on May 14, 2019 to debate Senator Chukwuka
Utazi’s timely motion on ‘Bridging the gap between the haves and have-not to
nip in the bud the seeds of a looming violent revolution’?”
Also,
some civil society groups also slammed the Federal Government for opposing the
planned protests.
The
Convener, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, condemned what he called the
abduction of Sowore by the DSS.
He
stated, “At a time when democracy is being entrenched and strengthened all over
the world, Nigeria is sliding back to the dark days of military regime where
citizens are being hounded and afraid to ask salient questions as to how they
should be governed.”
The
Advocates of People’s Right and Justice also condemned the arrest and detention
of Sowore, insisting that it was the right of every citizen to protest by
expressing their opinions on issues that affected them.
The
APRJ Coordinator, Victor Giwa, emphasised that Sowore’s arrest on the basis of
a call for protest, “is illegal and unconstitutional as the protest is to call
on citizens to express their rage if they have any against the government.”
Condemnations
also came from the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Civil Liberties
Organisation, Middle Belt Youth Council and the National Council of Tiv Youths.
The
President of the CDHR, Malachi Ugwummadu, said the best that the police could
do in the circumstance was to mobilise its operatives to keep proper
surveillance on the protests.
The
Director of the CLO, Steve Aluko, told one of our correspondents that citizens
had a right to protest.
He
said, “It is an ineligible right, the government that makes policies and
programmes that promote inhumanity, marginalisation and vulnerability of
its people only propels the engine room
to incite the people to legitimate revolt.”
Nobody
should attempt RevolutionNow protests in Rivers, Wike warns
But
the Rivers State State Governor, Nyesom Wike,
warned that nobody should attempt the RevolutionNow protests in the
state, insisting that the state would not be part of it.
Wike,
who spoke through a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Electronic
Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, explained that the state did not subscribe to what such
protests represented.
The
governor directed security agencies in the state to arrest anybody involved in
the protests and also take all necessary steps to prosecute such persons.
Also,
the President of the MBYC, Emman Zopmal, told The PUNCH that President Buhari
was overstepping his constitutional boundaries.
Also,
the Third Force Movement of Nigeria under the umbrella of the Nigeria
Intervention Movement also described peaceful protests as a constitutional
right of all citizens.
The
group said this in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olusegun
Obe. It said it was illegal to criminalise or victimise any citizen for openly
opposing the Federal Government’s policies
We
arrested Sowore for threatening public safety – DSS
But
the DSS confirmed the arrest and detention of Sowore.
The
spokesman for the DSS, Dr Peter Afunnaya, confirmed this development to
journalists, in Abuja, at the DSS Headquarters, in Abuja, on Sunday.
He
said, “Whether Sowore is with the DSS or not? The answer is in the affirmative,
he is with us.
“And
why is he with us? He has crossed the lines, he has threatened public safety.
Sowore, as a matter of fact, has threatened the peaceful coexistence, social
harmony of Nigeria. There is apprehension, there is anxiety, citizens and
residents are worried as to what will happen next.”.
But
the Coalition of Northern Group distanced itself from the planned revolution
march.
The
CNG declared that those organising the protests were “couriers of foreign
destabilisation plot that are not in the interest of the North.”
Addressing
a press conference at the Arewa House in Kaduna on Sunday, the CNG’s spokesman,
Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the North would not participate in the protest.
According
to him, the group will not participate, support or encourage any actions that are
potentially dangerous to the North.
He,
therefore, called on all northerners to shun the protests and resist any
attempt to be dragged into participating in any way in a movement that would
turn out to the disadvantage of the region.
But
the Presidency has replied notable Nigerians opposing the action taken by the
DSS in arresting Sowore.
It
mentioned the name of Soyinka in particular as one of the critics, saying that
much as the administration had respect for him and others, they appeared to be
engaging in double-speaking and blackmailing the government.
The
Presidency, reacting through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on
Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, noted that the same Soyinka would
criticise government for not taking actions against lawlessness and turned
around to attack it when it took actions.
“You
mentioned the name of Prof Wole Soyinka. Some of these critics of government
are people whom we have great respect and admiration for. When things are going
wrongly with the law and order in the country, they say the police are not
doing their work. They raise their voices, asking that ‘the culprits to be
booked and expeditiously punished in the most severe manner.’
“The
police under a new leadership is now rising to the occasion, saying ‘we cannot
take any more atrocities against the law in our country and they are saying
don’t do anything.
“They
are calling out President Buhari and comparing him to autocratic leaders. This
is an unpardonable blackmail that cannot stop the police and other law
enforcement agencies from doing their work,” the Presidency responded.
It
added that the administration respected the right of Nigerians to carry out
peaceful protests, but not a call to “violence.”
The
Presidency added, “A Nigerian is by right empowered to call for a change of
government using constitutional means; to protest peacefully against government
policies and decisions. But to call for the violent overthrow of a
democratically-elected government and President is worse, and is not acceptable
under any law in Nigeria. Violence will ever be accepted again as a way to
change governments in this country. Those days are gone.
“Nigeria
has a well-crafted constitution and elaborate laws governing elections that
guide an orderly succession in government. We have a judicial system that
actively serves as a watchdog of the people’s rights.
“Yet,
we are daily witnesses to obscene display of delight in the killing of our
soldiers and policemen, an open contempt for the country’s laws and its people,
accompanied by loud cheers from the so-called New Media. Is this the way to
grow a country?”
Reveal
your identities, Buhari tells sponsors
Earlier,
Buhari had said on Sunday that elections remained the best way to change a
government.
He
stated that he already demonstrated this by presenting himself for a democratic
election in February this year, where his party, the APC, won both the Presidential
and National Assembly polls.
In
a statement by the Presidency on Sunday, Buhari challenged the alleged sponsors
of the ‘revolution’ to come out openly to be identified by Nigerians so that
they would know where they (sponsors) stood.
It
added that much as the administration respected the right of Nigerians to hold
a peaceful protest, a call for a revolution was an incitement to violence.
The
statement, which was signed by Shehu on Buhari’s behalf, partly read, “The
President of Nigeria and his administration respect and uphold the right of
every Nigerian to peaceful protests and civil campaign, whether to raise
awareness on issues, and even oppose the government. It is the inalienable
right of all citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to do so.
“There
is, however, a difference between a peaceful call to protest and an incitement
for a revolution.
“The
organisation championing this planned action is not fronted by any serious
public faces. We call on the sponsors and organisers to have the decency to
come forward and make their identity known, out of respect to all Nigerians; so
that Nigerians can be fully aware in whose name this ‘revolution’ is being
proposed and who the beneficiaries may be.
“Less
than six months ago, Nigeria held simultaneous presidential and parliamentary
elections. Both contests were won resoundingly by President Muhammadu Buhari
and his All Progressives Congress party.
“The
campaign was observed, and results were confirmed by international election
monitoring groups and observers. The result is even being contested by the
losing presidential candidate and his party in court.”
Arguing
that elections were the best form of regime change, the Presidency added, “The
ballot box is the only constitutional means of changing government and a
president in Nigeria. The days of coups and revolutions are over.
“Those
making the ‘revolution’ call hide behind the veil of social media modernity.
But, without revealing the identity of their sponsors, this shadowy campaign is
no better, and no more democratic, than the days of old.
“The
President calls on all those who seek to use and hide behind everyday citizens
to attain power through undemocratic and violent means, which has been alluded,
to come out clearly and be identified.
“They
should lead their march in person. Only then will they begin to have the right
to call themselves leaders before the people of Nigeria.”
Contact:
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us on Twitter: @wintvereporters
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