3 months ago
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The opposition Peoples Redemption Party on Wednesday raised concerns over the use of lethal force against Nigerians who participated in the nationwide #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests.
The opposition party’s fear comes in the wake of a report that a soldier shot a 16-year-old protester dead in the Samaru community, Zaria, Kaduna State on Tuesday.
The teenage protester was identified as Ismail Mohammed.
PUNCH Online reported that the incident occurred when troops of the Nigerian Army received a distress call to help disperse some hoodlums, who were burning tyres and attacking security personnel in Samaru.
The mob had attempted to attack the troops, an action that made the soldier fire a warning shot to scare the hoodlums away.
But the bullet hit Mohammed leading to his death.
As of the time of filing the report, the Nigerian Army said the soldier involved has since been arrested and undergoing interrogation.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had said security operatives involved in the management of the #EndBadGovernance protest did not use live ammunition.
Reacting in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Falalu Bello, warned that peaceful civilians protesting against hunger in the country shouldn’t be the target of gun-totting operatives who are deployed to maintain order.
He said, “As protests are part and parcel of the plural democracy Nigerians have chosen for themselves, we demand a full investigation and accountability for the loss of lives and limbs through the use of live ammunition by the Nigerian security agencies in many locations where killings and maiming were reported.
“Moving forward, we demand of our legislatures in the National Assembly, legislation that defines rules of engagements of protesters in Nigeria with the security agencies during protests that, inter alia, should prohibit the use of live ammunition in all future protests.
“The use of live ammunition to control protests in Nigeria must be stopped.
“We, on the other hand, condemn, in very strong terms, the rioters who infiltrated the peaceful protests in places like Kano and Kaduna states to destroy public property and breach in shops and buildings to steal goods of ordinary Nigerians.”
Continuing, Bello condemned the flying of Russian flags and called for the return of the military, saying it was an ill wind that would do the nation no good.
The PRP national chairman said that though President Bola Tinubu may have disappointed many Nigerians with a nationwide broadcast that did little to assuage frayed nerves, the onus is on the youth who constitute a larger voting bloc in the country to vote him out at the next poll.
“In the ongoing protests, we have heard of some people calling for the Nigerian military to take over government in Nigeria.
“We in the PRP are against this call and believe strongly that the military should be restricted to their constitutional responsibility of protecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria and assisting the Nigeria Police Force to maintain peace when called to do so.
“The Nigerian electorate, we believe, should be allowed to change any bad government through the ballot box.
“The APC government of President Bola Tinubu can be changed through the ballot box, and we call on the Nigerian youth, who constitute 67 per cent of registered voters of Nigeria, to massively come out in the next two years and eight months to bring a new government that would have empathy for its citizens and bring good governance to the nation, and this is possible,” he assured.
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