A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has hailed organisers of the planned national protests “for their patriotism and zeal”.
In a statement on Wednesday, Adegboruwa blamed fuel subsidy removal and the currency devaluation for the current crisis facing the country, calling for their immediate reversal.
He noted that since the announcement of the protests, “the administration of President (Bola) Tinubu has become unduly jittery, pandering to primordial ethnic and religious sentiments, to save face”.
“No one can deny the fact of hunger, occasioned by galloping food inflation, in which we now buy a tuber of yam for N10,000, with the other staple foods such as Gaari, Rice, Egg, Bread, Beans now out of reach of the common people.
“I will first of all appeal to President Tinubu and his team rise up to this occasion and stop chasing shadows.
“The twin policies of oil subsidy removal and currency devaluation have worked to cripple the economy and throw Nigeria into its worst economic crisis. They should be reversed immediately.”
He also demanded that President Tinubu should block wastages by government functionaries.
He said, “There is need to urgently end the wastage by government functionaries, arising from their lavish and luxurious lifestyles. How can the President buy a new jet, the Vice-President renovate his house with N21 billion and the people are expected to suffer? How do you widen your wealth and luxuries and preach to the people to tighten their belts?”
He also noted that President Tinubu must end all forms of bad governance, including that of doling out billions of naira for religious pilgrimages while handing out pittance to students as loans.
He appealed to the security agencies to protect the rights of citizens to protest, noting that the law recognises the right to peaceful protests, while mandating the police to offer protection to unarmed civilians during their protests.
He said, “Let no single bullet be fired tomorrow, let there be no arbitrary and unlawful arrest of citizens and let there be no deployment of the military to handle tackle engagements.
“The protesters are our children and our own citizens. They certainly do not deserve bullets and crackdowns.”
While appealing to protesters, he opined that actions taken by him and some other stakeholders in the past few days are to facilitate dialogue with the law enforcement and security agencies.
He said, “The insistence by the Inspector-General of Police of “credible intelligence” with plans for violence is a confirmation of the desperation of government to abort the protests by sponsoring hooligans and thugs to disrupt the protests. This is currently ongoing in many parts of Lagos State.
“I therefore appeal that the protests be orderly and peaceful and conducted in the locations that you have already sent to the police.
“Also, let the days of the protests be reduced to one day or in the maximum three days and thereafter be suspended. Let your demands be made known to the government and then give time to address them.”
Adegboruwa also called for more engagement with the government on the issues raised, for the purpose of addressing them.
“Let the organizers set up different teams to engage with various agents of the government, for immediate action,” his statement read.
Adegboruwa, a prominent human rights activist and lawyer for the Take-It-Back movement, has been a key figure in the protests. In the lead-up to the demonstration, he played a crucial role in facilitating a meeting with the Inspector General of Police, showcasing his commitment to advocating for the movement’s demands.
Additional report from Sahara Reporters
Study @ Achievers University
