Victor EzejaHuman Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned clampdown on media organisations and peaceful protesters by the police and the Department of State Services (DSS).
The human rights group described the actions of the security agencies as a direct attack on constitutional democracy in the country.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a statement by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HUIRWA said the clampdown by the police and the Department of State Services on protesters who gathered to commemorate the fourth-year anniversary of the killing of peaceful demonstrators by soldiers at the Lekki Toll gate in Lagos and the invasion of the residence of a journalist working for the Abuja based Order Paper during which a media staff, Edna Ulaeto was manhandled and allegedly detained by the DSS, is a clear drift from democratic principles towards authoritarianism.
The group called on the president of Nigeria has been called upon to stop the ugly trend.
It said: “The duty of the secret police is not to constantly haunt and attack media workers who are simply carrying out their national tasks as prescribed by section 22 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended which recognises the media of mass communication as the vanguards of the nation and as the agents of positive change who are to monitor and report the activities, failures and achievements of those holding public offices.”
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It urged the DSS to redirect its resources toward arresting the real enemies of Nigeria, such as terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and those seeking to destroy the country, not media organisations performing their constitutional duties.
“These incessant attacks on the media by the DSS and other security agencies should and must stop before the constitutional democracy is destroyed by the emerging dictatorship,” it added.
HURIWA recalled that in a statement, dated 18 October, the management of OrderPaper said that “a group of armed men, identifying themselves as officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), forcefully stormed the home of an OrderPaper staff member, Edna Ulaeto, and abducted her without any explanation.”
The human rights group noted that although the journalist with OrderPaper was later released after the intervention of the International Press Institute, Nigerian office, the invasion of her home and the brazen violations of her human dignity as displayed by the DSS is a despicable pattern of persistent attacks on media freedoms by the current administration. “We ask the government to apologise to this mistreated journalist and pay adequate financial compensation of N100 million for the violations of her human rights or the organisation: OrderPaper should sue the DSS to enforce the fundamental rights of their staff and to seek adequate redress for those callous, primitive and inhuman violations of the constitutional human rights of the media worker.
It warned that if the attacks on journalists should continue under the current government, then it will be required that all pro-democracy advocates and groups both within and outside of the shores of Nigeria, should unite to wage an unrelenting international campaign to call on the international community to impose sanctions on the president Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
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HURIWA called on independent NGOs and civil Rights advocacy Groups to unite and plan massive global campaigns against the upsurge in gross violations of the Rights of citizens by government through the armed security forces under the direct command and control of the President of Nigeria.
It also said the attacks on protesters in Lagos by operatives of the Police Force, are intolerable, asserting that the protesters did not commit any crime by assembling peacefully to commemorate fourth anniversary of #EndSARS protest.
It called on police to released all peaceful protesters detained by the police on Sunday during the 4th #EndSARS memorial.
“We call on the police to release all the protesters detained by them as a result of the peaceful assembly that was held today. The people of Nigeria have the constitutional freedom of peaceful assembly and the police has no mandate known to law, to employ brute and primitive force to chase away these peaceful Nigerians who are simply exercising their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
