Amnesty International has warned President Bola Tinubu’s government and the Nigerian Police not to stop Nigerians from protesting against authoritarian rule, human rights violations, and the misuse of the Cybercrimes Act.
This warning follows a statement from the Take-It-Back Movement, a group that announced plans for a nationwide protest on Monday, April 7.
The protest aims to highlight the growing oppression under President Tinubu’s administration.
In response, the Lagos State Police Command urged the group to cancel the protest. According to the police, intelligence reports suggest that some criminals might take advantage of the protest to cause chaos and attack government properties and opposition leaders.
The police described the protest organizers as “subversive groups” pretending to be civil society organizations (CSOs), and claimed they are using social media to gain public sympathy and criticize the government.
Despite this, Amnesty International insists that Nigerians have the right to peaceful protest. The organization said any attempt to stop people from gathering peacefully is illegal and shows a lack of tolerance for opposing views.
Amnesty stressed that both the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights laws protect the right to peaceful protest. It urged security agencies to respect this right and asked government officials not to use threatening language against protesters.
“The Nigerian authorities must respect the people’s right to protest peacefully. This is a chance for the government to listen to its citizens, not silence them,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
He added that protests should not be used as an excuse to violate people’s rights, and called on the government to prove its commitment to human rights by allowing freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and association.
