With barely four days to the August 1 nationwide protest against hardship in the country, Force headquarters and organisers of the protest planned for August 1 have stuck to their positions on the legality of the protest.
While the police insisted that the organisers provide details to enable them to guarantee violence-free protest, one of the organisers, Deji Adeyanju, also insisted that the police had no right to call for such details, saying giving in to police demand would amount to re-writing the constitution.1:07
A lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN, accused telcos of planning to frustrate the protest through indiscriminate barring of subscribers; number, an accusation the telcos have denied.
The tango between the police and protest organisers came as the President of the Christian Association of Association, CAN, His Eminence, The Most Rev Dr. Daniel Okoh, yesterday called for caution on both organisers of the planned protest and the federal government.
CAN’s position came as the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, threw his weight behind the protest, saying sponsors of the protest were hungry and hopelessness.
This is even as the immediate-past National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Salihu Lukman, yesterday asked President Bola Tinubu to stop his attempts to criminalize and politicize the planned nationwide protest.
Also yesterday, the Nigeria Police Force explained the reasons details of the organisers of the proposed nationwide protests were requested.
Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had, on Friday, directed the protest organisers to submit their details, proposed routes and assembly points to the commissioners of police in their respective states.
However, the organisers of the protest disagreed with the IG, accusing him of trying to rewrite the constitution.
One of the organisers, Deji Adeyanju, said yesterday there is no provision in the constitution to support the requests made by the IG.
He said: “When the constitution was conferring the right to protest on the citizens, did it give conditions for protests? Is the IG trying to rewrite the constitution? Is he trying to donate rights to the citizens or what?
‘’He has no such powers. The constitution and other laws of the land do not give the IG the power to dictate how citizens should protest.”
Reacting, Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the IG’s request is a standard procedure to facilitate effective communication, ensure safety of all participants and prevent any unlawful activities.
Adejobi said: “The Nigeria Police Force hereby addresses the recent accusations made by one activist, Deji Adeyanju, and others via various fora, alleging that the IGP is attempting to rewrite the constitution by requesting the details of the organisers and leaders of the planned nationwide protests.
“It is essential to know who is planning the assembly (protests) in each state as allowing faceless groups to operate unchecked could jeopardise the peace and stability of the country, and leave us with pains, sorrows and tears as experienced in the 2020 violent #EndSARS protests.
‘’If organised labour and other recognised bodies were involved, it would have provided a more structured and safer environment for such public protests.
“In this wise, requesting the details of protest organisers and their leaders and the schedules of their protests which include location, period, routes etc., is a standard procedure to facilitate effective communication, ensure the safety of all participants, and prevent any unlawful activities.”
Adejobi noted that the IGP had never denied the constitutional right of every citizen to freedom of association and expression, but had rather, at every point, emphasised that the right was to peaceful assembly and expression.
“It is also vital for Deji Adeyanju to note that in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health; or to protect the rights and freedom of other persons as enshrined in Section 45 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, this request by the IGP is not out of place,’’ he said.