Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged Nigerians to utilize their constitutional right to demonstrate against the economic challenges in the country. He emphasized that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) safeguards the citizens’ right to peaceful protest. Atiku Abubakar dismissed the accusations and threats from the Presidency regarding the alleged instigators of the protest as being ineffective.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had implicated Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, and his supporters as the orchestrators of the scheduled protest. The Presidency has indirectly warned Nigerians in relation to the “End bad Governance” protest. Atiku responded by stating, “The right to protest is clearly protected by the Nigerian Constitution and has been affirmed by our courts. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) explicitly guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and association.
Engaging in a futile pursuit of purported individuals behind the planned protests, when it is evident that Nigerians, including Tinubu’s supporters and members of the ruling APC, are affected by the despair, indignation, and desolation resulting from the incompetence and ineptitude of this government, is pointless.” Additionally, the former vice president reminded that President Tinubu, his supporters, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) led a protest in 2012 against the government of former president, Goodluck Jonathan. Atiku cautioned the federal government that any effort to suppress citizens’ right to protest in August would be considered a direct attack on Nigeria’s democracy.
“It is profoundly contradictory that those who now aim to hinder these rights previously led protests in 2012. A responsible government should guarantee a secure and safe environment for citizens to exercise their constitutionally protected rights to peaceful protest. Any attempts to impede these rights are not only unconstitutional but also a direct challenge to our democracy,” Atiku emphasized.