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| President Buhari of Nigeria |
News Features
The detention of a pro-democracy activist on August
4, 2019 may well signify the Nigerian government’s growing intention to shut
down dissent, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Department of State Security arrested Omoyele
Sowore, claiming that his call for nationwide protests on August 5, called
Revolution Now, was an insurrection aimed at a forceful takeover of the government.
“If Omoyele Sowore has been arrested in an attempt
to stop the protests he helped to organize, that would be a damning indication
of the government’s increasing intolerance for critical voices,” said Anietie
Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The mere use of the word
revolution as a slogan is not enough to support a claim of violent insurgency
and should not be treated as a crime.”
Sowore, the publisher of a New York-based Nigeria
news website, Sahara Reporters, ran against President Muhammadu Buhari in the
March 2019 presidential elections. His political party, Africa Action Congress,
declared August 5 the beginning of “Days of Rage” to protest, among other
things, an alleged lack of a level playing field in the March elections. Sahara
Reporters posted video footage of his arrest by armed security officials. The
security agency’s public relations officer, Peter Afunaya, said that Sowore was
arrested “for threatening public safety, peaceful co-existence, and social
harmony in the country” by calling for a revolution through the protests.
Based on media reports, the Nigerian government
placed Amnesty International on a security watch on August 1 for allegedly
reproducing a message by the organizers of the Revolution Now protests in a
tweet. The reports were soon followed by protests at the organization’s Abuja
office by people demanding that the group leave Nigeria. Amnesty International
released a statement restating its commitment to human rights in Nigeria
despite “sponsored protests” and efforts to smear the organization. In a tweet
from the Nigerian Presidency’s Twitter account on August 4, the government
criticized Amnesty International, claiming it was promoting tweets that called
for the overthrow of the country’s constitution.
Despite Sowore’s arrest, his supporters carried on
with the planned protests on August 5. In Lagos State, officials of Operation
MESA, a joint Internal Security Operational platform made up of the Army, the
Navy and the Air Force, surrounded the National Stadium, where the protesters
planned to convene. A journalist told Human Rights Watch that armed security
officials were stationed at the protest venue as early as 6 a.m. before the
protesters arrived:
The police warned the protesters to leave before they
fired tear gas. I saw policemen arrest and throw two of the protesters arguing
with them about the use of tear gas in their van. I left the area immediately
to avoid any trouble for myself.
The police allegedly arrested and detained a Sahara
Reporters journalist, Victor Ogungbemiro, and eight protesters at the scene.
The Rivers State government banned Revolution Now
protests in the state and ordered the arrest of protesters, according to a
statement issued by the governor’s special assistant on electronic media,
Simeon Nwakaudu.
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental human
right guaranteed under both Nigerian and international law.
“Nigerian authorities should end the harassment and
intimidation of individuals and groups that legitimately criticize government
action and policies, including Amnesty International,” Ewang said. “Sowore and
other detained protesters should either be charged within the constitutionally
guaranteed 48-hour period or released unconditionally.”
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