The National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) has condemned the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters exercising their democratic rights in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

NCSCL was reacting to the protests in Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria, where peaceful demonstrators have been reportedly arrested, brutalised and killed.

In Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, #EndSARS protesters were brutalised by security operatives, while some of them were killed in the country’s economic capital, Lagos.

In Guinea, President Alpha Conde’s hugely controversial bid to extend his grip on power for a third term sparked repressed protests, costing dozens of lives.

Furthermore, policemen in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, reportedly allowed groups of men, some of whom were armed with machetes and heavy sticks, to attack protesters demonstrating against President Alassane Ouattara’s decision to run for a third term in office.

‘It is therefore completely unfathomable that peaceful gatherings of ECOWAS citizens will be greeted with iron fists, heavy boots and live bullets under the watchful eyes of governments and administrations they constitutionally instituted for their safety and happiness’, NCSCL said in a statement.

The group wondered what moral standing would Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria have to chastise younger leaders who indulge in similar practices.

NCSCL called on ECOWAS to stand up and act now before situations blow out of proportion.

‘The rights to peaceful assembly, protest, and free elections are guaranteed under the AU Agenda 2063, AU Transitional Justice Policy, The Rome Status, and other international protocols and treaties’, the statement read.

Source: The New Dawn

Photo source: The Cable