Stop Criminalising Protests, NRHC Urges Federal Gov’t

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the federal government and the law enforcement agencies to see protests as expression of fundamental human rights, hence it should stop criminalising it.

Executive Secretary of NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, who made the call at the weekend during the commission’s dashboard presentation report for the months of July and August, 2024, in Abuja, also called on all the tiers of government to prepare for next month’s planned national-wide protest and stop working to criminalise those organising the protest.

The NHRC boss stressed that the government has been given enough notice by the organisers and insisted that it was the duty of the law enforcement agencies to ensure that strategies were put in place to prevent hoodlums from hijacking and giving a criminalised impression to the exercise.

He condemned the deliberate use of force and disregard for the rights to peaceful protest and assembly, freedom of expression and other associated rights exhibited by law enforcement agencies during the recent #EndBadGovernance protest held across the country last month.

On the issue of displacement in the country, Ojukwu said it was affecting countless individuals and communities, adding that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that about 208,655 persons have been displaced in 22 states this year already, a stark increase from 2023 figures.

“It is therefore imperative that government takes immediate and sustainable actions to address this pressing issue, ensuring the protection and well-being of all those affected by displacement and taking steps to avert the effects of flooding and other sources of displacement,” he lamented.

While presenting the July and August, 2024, human rights assessment dashboard of the Commission, senior Human Rights adviser to the executive secretary of the NHRC, Mr. Hillary Ogbona, said over 1,200 people who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest last month have so far been arrested and detained by security agencies across the country.

While the commission lamented that some of the protesters have been charged to court, it, however, noted with grave concern that they were detained beyond the period allowed by law before being taken to court.

According to the dashboard, a total of 414,200 complaints of human rights abuses were received by the NHRC across the country in the last two months, insisting that protest is not a crime but a legitimate way of expressing grievance against unfavourable government policies and programmes.

Ogbona said: “Government should not attempt to stop protest but to guide it. At the same time, Government should not lump genuine protesters with criminals. You don’t arrest and detain people for protest.

“Looting and destruction of properties are not protest but act of criminalities which should not be regarded as part of peaceful protests,” he stressed