#EndBadGovernance: We Didn’t Arrest Peaceful Protesters, Police PRO Insists
Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
The Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, has continued to insist that contrary to widely spread public opinions, the Nigeria police did not at any time arrest peaceful protesters during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja during the public presentation of final report tagged, ‘Beyond the protest: towards governance reforms after #EndBadGovernance’, which was organised by Kimpact Development Initiative, KDI, Adejobi said in the case of arresting children for treason, the police arrested so many adults and the number was over 80 in which children were involved.
Represented by his deputy, Victor Isuku, the PRO said in offences such as treason, only adults are taking the full wrath of the law which is death, noting that even the Attorney General of the Federation exonerated the police in the alleged way it handled the suspects that were arrested
“I still insist that we did not arrest peaceful protesters as far as the Endbadgovernance protest was concerned. We only arrested criminals and hoodlums that were out to loot and destroy properties.
“Concerning arresting underage, the law states that if you are above seven years, you’re criminally liable. In the case of arresting children for treason, we arrested so many adults and the number was over 80.
“The law states that if children and adults are arrested for the same offense, as far as it is a capital offence as treason, they will be fined together, but the caveat is that because treason carries the death penalty, adults will get it, but not children.
“Even the Attorney General of the Federation exonerated the police in the way we handled those suspects that were arrested….Yes, Nigerians can protest and I must say that we’ve not seen the last of protests in the country. It’s within the rights of citizens to protest,” he said.
On the role played by civil society organisation in the alleged misinformation concerning the role of the police, the Force spokesperson said not all information is released to public hence the level of peace recorded so far.
“As CSOs, they must be patriotic and desist from acting out external scripts. They should adhere to conflict sensitive communication, and not to say things and blow them out of proportion.
“When dealing with intelligence, it’s not everything that you get, that you give out. Presently, there are certain information that have been given to us, and if we had made open, we would not have been enjoying the peace we are enjoying at the moment” he added.
In his speech, the Executive Director of KDI, Bukola Idowu, said all protests are organic and stem from policies not falling into current realities of the people.
He said from observation and the records so far documented, it’s imperative to recommend amongst others, the need for formalised citizen engagement, post- protest dialogues, non- coercive responses, youth empowerment and government reframing of protests.
