From Ben Dunno, Warri
The Acting National President Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Dr Kehinde Taiga, has lamented the growing rate of human rights abuses under the present regime, stating that nothing has changed much under the present dispensation inspite the laudable intention of the EndSARS protest.
Making his stand known in a Democracy Day statement issued in Warri, yesterday, Taiga described the last Saturday’s, June 12, experience where the federal government ordered the police to roll out armoured tanks, live arms and ammunitions, surveillance helicopters in forcing harmless citizens not to exercise their constitutional rights to protest as gross violation of human rights.
While noting that besides the fact that government had started denying people their rights to free expression by banning Twitter and the ongoing plot to regulate the online space, Taiga maintained that preventing the masses from exercising their right to free expression violates both national and international laws on free speech.
According to him; ‘one of the reason the EndSARS came into existence was to correct some of these abuses and It is regrettable that nothing much has changed in this government even after the laudable intentions of the EndSARS protest to put an end to these abuses”.
‘Most of the rights abuses the protest seek to address are still with us today. The police still extorting openly and flagrantly, suspects are still being detained without trials longer than necessary and most of them even die while being unjust incarcerated”.
‘It is absurd that even till day, our justice system still detaining suspects in prisons without trial while the people who are out to genuinely to protest the infringements on their rights and privileges are being denied their rights to protest. So where lies the justice and human rights we talk about that instigated the #EndSARS?’
Also speaking the Delta State branch Secretary of CDHR, Israel Joe, demanded an outright disbanment of Twitter, insisting that the continued banning of Twitter by the federal government was not in the best interest of democratic norms and values.
‘The decision of the federal government to ban Twitter was too hasty and counterproductive with devastating effects on freedom of speech and investments generally in Nigeria,’ he said.
‘CDHR Delta State hereby advice the Federal Government to reverse the ban on Twitter and the Press Censorship in the Country in the interest of peace and economic development of pur dear nation and beyond.’
In his speech, a prominent CDHR member in the state Chief Edariese, addressed the way and manner the President had handled some pressing political issues, especially the insecurity threatening the corporate existence of tne nation.
‘It is the height of discrimination against the Ibos of South-East for Buhari administration to deploy the entire security forces in Nigeria to fight those asking for self determination while the same federal government is heard to be saying that State Governments and Traditional Rulers should deal with issues of Insecurity in their various States and domain, especially the issue of Boko Haram and Bandits in the North States.’
He appealed to President Buhari to apply fairness and justice to address the whole issues of insecurity in the country.