Media reports of policemen in Abuja firing teargas at the #ReleaseNnamdiKanuNow protesters are deeply concerning and must be condemned by all who believe in democracy.
Development Diaries reports that police officers on Monday dispersed protesters demanding the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, at the Utako area of Abuja.
Our reporter observed that the protesters had earlier been forced to flee after police fired tear gas canisters at them around Maitama before regrouping at Utako to continue their demonstration.
The action of security operatives is inconsistent with Nigeria’s constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and protest.
So, why are security operatives attacking citizens exercising a constitutional right?
Our reporter also observed that the #ReleaseNnamdiKanuNow protesters, including civil rights activists and pro-democracy advocates, were not armed or violent as they peacefully called on the government to obey a subsisting Court of Appeal judgment that discharged and acquitted Nnamdi Kanu in 2022.
That demand, whether one agrees with it or not, falls squarely within the boundaries of civic expression.
This action further erodes public trust in state institutions, as the police, by law, should be providing security for protesters, not violence against them.
Peaceful protest is a vital part of participatory governance, not an act of rebellion. And if Nigeria truly wants to deepen democracy, then law enforcement must begin to see protest as a partner activity, not a provocation.
