How Nigerian govt., security agencies, protesters breach NHRC protest advisory, global standards

On 31 July, the eve of the 10-day #EndBadGovernance protests, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued an advisory to guide the conduct of the street demonstrations.

Organisers called for protests, which began on 1 August, against rising living costs resulting from President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies and general bad governance.

The advisory, drawing on the Nigerian constitution and international conventions, declarations, principles, and codes to which Nigeria is a signatory, stresses citizens’ right to protest and spells out the obligations attached to that right.

It elaborates on ensuring peaceful protests and the roles the government and security agencies must play to achieve that.

However, a review of the protests by PREMIUM TIMES from media reports shows that the state actors and protesters breached the advisory and, by implication, the relevant domestic, regional and global instruments in different parts of the country.

These instruments, which the NHRC advisory relies on, include section 40 of the Nigerian constitution, guaranteeing the right to peaceful assembly and association.

They include the 1986 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The advisory also cites the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

It also relies on the Nigerian case law of Inspector General of Police vs. All Nigeria Peoples Party and Others (2007), in which the Court of Appeal laid down the judicial principles recognising the right to freedom of expression, freedom of association, and assembly.

The Court of Appeal held in the judgement that “the right to demonstrate and the right to protest on matters of public concern are rights which are in the public interest and that which individuals must possess, and which they should exercise without impediment as long as no wrongful act is done.”

But across the country, violations of one aspect or the other of the advisory were recorded jointly and severally in different parts of the country in the following ways.

Use of force, live ammunition

In the early days of the #EndBadGovernance protest, reports surfaced of how the police tear gassed and shot at peaceful protesters.

It got worse as the protests progressed to the third to the fifth days, by which time killings had been recorded in Niger, Jigawa, Kano and Kaduna, according to Amnesty International’s Nigeria office.

On 3 August in Abuja, police and State Security Service (SSS) operatives fired tear gas and live ammunition at peaceful protesters and journalists. Some of the journalists were in their press jackets.

PREMIUM TIMES and The Cable reporters in the firing line of the security forces recounted their near-death experiences here, here, here, here and here. Another PREMIUM TIMES reporter also gave an account of how he was brutalised by the police on the first day of the protest despite identifying himself as a journalist.

According to the Press Attack Tracker run by the Centre for Journalism Innovative and Development (CJID), at least 31 journalists faced one form of harassment and were prevented from performing their duties during the protest.

On the last day of the protest on 10 August, the police, in a show of determination not to allow the gathering, dispersed peaceful protesters with tear gas and live ammunition.

The conduct of the police and the SSS harassing protesters and journalists, dispersing peaceful protesters, and doing so with lethal force, resulting in deaths in some parts of the country, breached the NHRC advisory and the international standards that it embodies.

The advisory urges law enforcement agents “to abide by the recommendations of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.”

Under the UN code, law enforcement officials may use force “only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty,” that the use of force should be exceptional, and that “the use of firearms is considered an extreme measure.”

It also provides that “no law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The security agencies’ disobedience to the advisory and brutality against peaceful protesters and journalists during the demonstrations have intensified concerns about the commitment of security agencies and the Nigerian government to upholding human rights when citizens exercise their rights to protest.

Federal, state governments, security forces fail protesters

Similarly, the NHRC’s advisory stipulates that the state and federal governments must ensure safety, provide necessary infrastructure, and take measures to prevent disruptions from counter-demonstrators or hostile forces.

The advisory further states that the government should provide adequate protection for participants against violence or intimidation and facilitate peaceful assemblies through appropriate measures.

However, on the first day of the protests, at least 11 buses filled with ‘No protest’ demonstrators arrived at Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

During an interview with this newspaper, three of them said they were promised N5,000 each to participate in the counter-protest.

The arrival of the counter-protesters charged the atmosphere, creating fear among the #EndBadGovernance protesters.

In Lagos, police officers watched as suspected hoodlums beat up journalists, chasing them out of Freedom Park, Ojota, the designated venue of the protest.

The NHRC advisory urges authorities to ensure “a prompt, impartial, and thorough investigation into any incidents of human rights violations during the protest.”

However, instead of investigating the human rights violations committed by security forces and non-state actors, the police authorities gave their officers across the country a clean bill of health. The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, hailed his officers for their “professionalism” in handling the protests.

In states like Lagos and Ogun, and the FCT, Abuja, courts acceded to governments’ requests to restrict protesters to particular venues, contrary to the NHRC’s advisory for the government and security agencies to “Provide and protect traffic routes for protesters and non-protesters to ensure the right to freedom of movement are enjoyed by all parties.”

Security agencies have also continued to clamp down on some leaders of the protesters after the demonstrations ended.

For instance, the government has continued to unlawfully detain two activists – Adaramoye Michael and Mosiu Sodiq – linked to the protests since their arrest on 5 August.

Protesters, too, violate the advisory

The NHRC advisory asks protest leaders to “ensure that the protest is peaceful and avoid provocative actions such as carrying arms, hate speeches, attacks on law enforcement and security agencies or looting of public and private properties.”

It also asks them to ensure that protesters are “law-abiding”.

However, this obligation was breached in Kano State, Northwest Nigeria, where a section of the yet-to-be-commissioned Digital Industrial Park (DIP) of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) in the state was attacked by protesters on the first day of the protest.

Reports indicate the protesters invaded the centre, broke into offices, and looted state-of-the-art equipment worth billions of naira, as well as setting ablaze the generator room of the centre.

Some hoodlums also looted stores in the state under the guise of the protest.

“Violence and destruction of property will undermine the legitimacy of the protest,” the advisory warns.

It adds, “While the right to protest is guaranteed, the protection of critical infrastructure is also essential.”

It urges protesters to cooperate with law enforcement to ensure peaceful protests and apprehension of offenders.

Although lack of cooperation could not be wholly blamed on a party, there is no evidence of cooperation between the police and protesters to arrest perpetrators of crimes during the protests..

Poor publicity of advisory, political interference

Selimot Badejoko, a Lagos-based lawyer, commended the NHRC for issuing the protest advisory in the exercise of its powers within the ambit of its enabling law.

But she decried the poor publicity of the advisory.

“The essence of the advisory is to guide the parties to safeguard the interests of both parties and ensure that they comply with the law to attain justice and rule of law.

“Meanwhile, some of the protesters do not even know such a guide exists while the police are meant to enforce the law by protecting the protesters. Even the protest was meant to be peaceful until things fell apart, with violence and looting of properties being the order of the day,” she said.

Ibrahim Waiya, the Executive Director of Citizens for Development and Education, decried the government, law enforcement agencies, and protesters’ disobedience to the advisory.

He cited desperation and political interference as among the reasons for the disobedience.

“The reasons the citizens might not follow the advisory might be because of desperation, hunger and poverty,” he said, adding that in Kano, “there’s an underlying instigation of youths by political thugs which led to mind-blowing destruction which shows that their sponsors had given them specific targets in the state.”

He advised the federal government “to be proactive and checkmate the rising inflation in the country” to avert future occurrences. The protest was driven by hardship resulting from high inflation in the country.

“It all happens because a hungry man is an angry man,” Mr Wayah added.