Former Second Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Monday Ubani has lashed out at the Nigeria Police for attempting to stop the planned protests on the anniversary of the #ENDSARS protests.
Recall that in commemoration of the first anniversary of the #EndSARS protest, some Nigerian youths have put the notice out there that they are organizing a protest to mark the day.
According to Ubani, the protests the youths are organizing are lawful as it fall in line with the provision of the 1999 constitution.
He urged the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu to work and make sure that the life of the protesters are safeguarded from any harm.
He wrote, “My attention has been drawn to the threat both by the state government and the Nigerian Police to stop Nigerians from commemorating the EndSARS protest which allegedly claimed several lives last year.
“We emphasize these facts for the umpteenth time that such act of aggression against the citizens’ rights that are guaranteed by the constitution is illegal, illogical and provocative.
“The rights to peaceful assembly and movement including expression are products of the 1999 constitution as amended which remains the grundnorm.
“If there is any law that is meant to derogate from those rights, it has to be a reasonable law made in a democratic society. For now, no such law exists that outlaws the peaceful gathering and free expression of the citizens of Nigeria.
“The Nigerian Police represented by the current Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu is advised to ensure that those who really want to commemorate the great event in a peaceful manner are given adequate security protection to carry out that basic civic duty.
“May I remind the present government, in case they have forgotten, that governance is not a monologue but a dialogue between the led and their leaders.
“Effective participation and feedback mechanism are powerful instruments that precipitate good governance in a democratic society. Autocracy and unimaginative exclusion of the people in governance have terrible and negative consequences in the country.
“It is my belief that those who intend to commemorate the EndSARS anniversary are knowledgeable enough to know that there are legal consequences for riotous and destructive behaviour under our criminal code.
Source; NaijaOnPoint.com
