Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has asked Nigerians to massively boycott the NIN/SIM card registration exercise particularly if they have not already enrolled with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the rights group said the reason for the protest against this policy of government is not that it is a bad policy but that the timing of the implementation is suicidal.

According to the statement, “That the Nigerian government has remained inconsiderate, irresponsible, insensitive, and irresponsible and not being responsive to the agitation of millions of Nigerians that have called on the government to suspend the exercise until such a time that the second wave of Covid-19 is checkmated, is disappointing.

“Therefore the last card Nigerians have is to massively protest either symbolically through active civil disobedience of boycott of the exercise or physical demonstration on the streets.

“We call on all Nigerians including policemen and women to protest. The protest does not mean physical protest alone unless they are pushed to their limits then they can come out wearing their face masks, observing physical distancing but anything other than this, the people can also boycott the exercise.

“Yes the reason why they should protest is because the timing of the exercise is a threat to their lives because the second wave of Covid-19 is on a global rampage and people are dying in their thousands in Nigeria and many who have attended that registration exercise have died from Covid-19,” HURIWA said, adding that it learnt of some fatalities related to that dastardly ill-timed exercise.

The rights group also called on the judiciary to bail Nigerians out in such a way that if there are cases challenging this exercise the court should treat it in accelerated hearing because it dovetails into a question of right to life.

“The right to life is the be-all and end-all of all human rights because there is no human rights in the mortuary and the dead have no human rights and since we are alive as Nigerians, are we going to keep quiet until the government sends us to our early grave? Only the living can enjoy human rights and good governance.

“Even the Minister of Health of this same government has said that the timing of the exercise is a threat to the lives of Nigerians. So why are Nigerians complying and turning out in their millions to go and die? Are we a nation primed for mass suicide? Have we no courage to say ‘No’ to this compulsory call to die?

“If the government is in doubt that the people are actually dying in the exercise then there should be an independent opinion poll to ascertain this claim,” the group said.

It further affirmed that, “the timing of this exercise is the violation of section 14 sub section(2)(B) and section 33(1) 14 of the Nigerian Constitution.”

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