The Nigeria police have continued to face criticism over discordant tone on public protest and procession, especially in the nation’s capital, Abuja. CHIZOBA OGBECHE looks at the issues being raised by the move.
Public protest and peaceful procession are accepted dividends of democratic governance, this is even as the Muhammmadu Buhari’s led administration has seen a fair share of these protests, for and against the administration.
However, public analysists are quick to recall that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) made a lot of political mileage during the run up to the 2015 general elections following public protests and procession.
The ban order by the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the FCT, Mohammad Mustafa, therefore, took many by surprise. It was all the more contentious as it was conveyed in press statement made available to journalists late on September 5, preceding a planned protest by the #BringBackOurGirls coalition in Abuja.
Mustafa in the statement signed by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Anjuguri Manzah, titled: FCT Police Command Warns Violators of Public Peace, said: “The command has observed with serious concern the flagrant disregard for the law by some individuals and group of persons who lay siege to the FCT in the form of protests and demonstrations.
“These indiscriminate actions which are carried out in disorderly and sometimes riotous manner create unwarranted tension and apprehension among law abiding citizens and in the process obstruct legitimate business activities.”
The statement went further to state that: “The command will not fold its arms and watch some individuals or group of persons tamper with the existing peaceful atmosphere in the FCT.
“The command hereby advises any person or group of persons who wish to embark on any demonstration to notify the Commissioner of Police FCT in writing and secure approval.”
The view of the FCT CP was re-echoed by the Inspector General of Police, acting IGP Ibrahim Idris, who said the protests by the #BringBackOurGirls coalition constituted a security threat to public peace and order.
The Chibok girls’ campaigners, he said, must understand that in the exercise of their rights, they must not trample on other peoples’ rights through “over-dramatization of emotions, self-serving propaganda and disrespect of public (office) holders.”
Speaking while playing host to the National President of the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), Gloria Shoda and other executive members visited him at the Force headquarters, he claimed government had invested huge resources to ensure that they were rescued and re-United with their families.
The IG sympathized with the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, however, maintained that recent activities of the group in Abuja, was becoming worrisome and a threat to public peace and order.
He maintained that: “The police will not sit on the fence and watch such a scenario unfold. The rights of law-abiding citizens must be protected within the context of the law. Enough is enough. We however ask that they tread with caution and that their grievances be channeled within the ambit of the law.
“Pressure groups should not resort to arm-twisting of government in order to achieve their aim,” he added.
Determined to stop the group, police personnel were deployed to prevent their procession to the State House, just as well armed operatives were also positioned at the meeting ground of the coalition at Unity Fountain in Maitama.
Raising in defence of the group, the Committee For the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) protested against what it called “the blanket ban on all protests in the FCT.”
In the same vein, the Socio-Economic and Accountability Project (SERAP) through its Senior Staff Council, Timothy Adewale, petitioned the United Nations over police harassment of #BBOG protesters.
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, also warned against the use of force against the #BBOG campaigners, saying that the group should be given their space to protest.
Reacting to the IGP’s comments, he said, it would be dangerous to forget the missing Chibok girls, noting that, protests by the group could not be too much as long as the Chibok girls remained Boko Haram captives.
Soyinka, who also urged the federal government and its agencies to speak with one voice, said Nigerians should express solidarity with the missing girls and their families.
A convener of the group, Oby Ezekwesili, had also reacted to the statements by the police, stating that nobody can threaten the group, even as she said that the IGP needed to educate himself properly about democracy.
“Our response is that he (IGP) should ask for the file that recorded our advocacy between 2014 and 2015 when the previous administration used all kinds of tactics similar to this one to try to violate our constitutional liberty.
“Not only did the constitution uphold that right, the court also upheld our rights. He should just read this files, he should be able to find what he needs in order to educate himself properly about democracy and citizens’ right to peaceful assembly,” she said.
She maintained that, the group would not relent in its quest to see the abducted girls free again, stated that their activities are not violent but peaceful and orderly.
According to her, “We are a peaceful movement as everyone knows, so we are not changing anything, no retreat, no surrender. Are our girls back? If the government says that we are unreasonable in demanding for our Chibok girls in the way that we have been demanding for them since 2014, they need to show the evidence that counters our stance.”
Following the outcry against the ban, the police on September 9, rescinded the ban in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Don Awunah.
It read in part: “The Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, wishes to state categorically that at no time did Nigeria Police Force place a ban on peaceful public protest/procession anywhere in Nigeria, most particularly the FCT.
“Peaceful public protest/procession is an integral part of democratic norms in as much as it conforms with the rule of law and public order. The Nigeria Police Force recognises the constitutional rights of every law abiding citizen to express his or her view through public protest/procession and other legitimate means.”
While the decision by the police to left the ban was welcomed, it raised issues about the security/threat judgement of the NPF police which has severally been accused of partisanship.
According to an Abuja based lawyer, Barr Obi Obiekwe: “the hasty decision of the police concerning protests and the #BBOG has further raised the people doubt over their competence at securing lives and order.
“If an IGP can’t separate his emotions in accessing security challenges, then the country is in for it. How can you off handily declare a group a threat to security and more or less take it back.
“How can such a police boss effectively access terrorist threats and other challenges posed by violent crimes in the country.”
Expectation is that the police would avoid involvement in political issues and remain objective and focused in the tasks of securing lives and property, so as to engender the trust of the people.
