END BAD GOVERNANCE: CDHR IDENTIFIES WITH THE RIGHT OF CITIZENS TO FREELY EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY, CAUTIONS AGAINST VIOLENT PROTEST
The position of the foremost human rights organisation in Nigeria, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, remains clear and focused on the planned protest schedule to hold in August to end bad governance in Nigeria.
In an emergency NEC meeting of the organisation held on Tuesday, the 30th of July, CDHR cautions against violent protest but identifies with the constitutional rights of citizens to freely express their views in a democratic dispensation while given supports to some of the protest demands as far as end bad governance is concerned. The NEC resolved as follows;
1. CDHR identifies with some of the demands of the planned protest coming August, although a few of it require institutional interventions while cautioning the protesters to be focused and do away with any form of vandalism and arsoning throughout the protest;
2. CDHR identifies with some of the protest demands of End bad governance in Nigeria. The demands are true, genuine, and realistic. The government must, as a matter of urgency, attend to it: inappropriate fuel subsidy removal, hike electricity tariffs, heavy taxes on formal and informal sector, hike in tuition fees, and hyper inflation among others;
3. CDHR charged the Nigerian people to hold all elected office holders accountable, and the government at all levels (state governors, sentors, the honourable members, and local government chairmen) given them ultimatum to fix the country;
4. CDHR charged all the security apparatus to be professional enough to curtail elements of destruction and violence if the protest is held as scheduled. They should not be the one to insight violence on peaceful protesters. Constitutionally, people have rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and as such, they must be protected by the security apparatus;
5. CDHR condemned all comments tagging the planned protest ethinc colouration as some of the demands of the planned protest affect all Nigerian masses;
6. CDHR acknowledged recent measures by the federal government to restructure the country and to ease mass suffering: breakthrough in local government autonomy and signing of new minimum wage in to law among others.
NEC, however, direct all our state branches and units to take the above as the position of CDHR regarding the planned protest against end bad governance in Nigeria.
E-Signed:
Comrade Debo Adeniran,
National President CDHR Nigeria.
Comrade Idris Afees Olayinka,
National Publicity Secretary CDHR Nigeria.