Prominent pro-democracy advocates, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), said on Tuesday that those who infiltrated the otherwise peaceful rallies by campaigners to end police brutality in year 2020 were widely and extensively believed to have been funded by government officials and a security institution on the alleged instructions of the immediate past President.

HURIWA through her National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko has therefore carpeted the ninth session of the National Assembly for been so weak, so feeble and overwhelmed by executive control so much so that the relevant committees of the then National Assembly failed spectacularly to unravel the suspected sponsors of the violence that characterised the later part of the #ENDSARS protests when armed thugs were for instance sighted been driven in exotic SUVs to venues of the #ENDSARS protests in Abuja after which the peaceful rallies were disrupted.

Besides, HURIWA has criticised all the security forces and especially the primary law enforcement agency which is the Nigeria Police Force for failing to uncover the real sponsors of the armed hoodlums that infiltrated the #ENDSARS protests in Abuja and other parts of the federation thereby occasioning massive bloodshed, destruction of both private and public assets and killing of protesters.

The Rights group blamed soldiers and police in Lagos for orchestrating violence when they allegedly opened fire with live bullets against demonstrators. HURIWA recalled that the ECOWAS Court of justice had in a recent judgment slammed the Nigerian government for breaching the fundamental rights of the #ENDSARS protesters.

HURIWA recalled that the applicants alleged that during the peaceful protests against the SARS unit of the Nigerian Police Force at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20 and 21, 2020, the respondent committed several human rights violations.

The ECOWAS court found Nigeria in breach of Articles 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, specifically on the right to life, security of person, freedom of expression, assembly and association, prohibition of torture, the duty of the state to investigate, and the right to effective remedy.

The applicants, Obianuju Udeh, Perpetual Kamsi and Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka, alleged that these violations occurred during the peaceful protests at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State on October 20 and 21, 2020.

The presiding judge, Justice Koroma Sengu, who delivered the judgment, dismissed the allegation that the right to life as guaranteed under article 4 of the ACPHR is violated.

The ECOWAS Court however, said that the Federal Government must pay each applicant N2 million as compensation for violations of their security of person, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, duty to investigate human rights violations, and right to effective remedy.

HURIWA’s criticism of the security forces’ failure or refusal to uncover the sponsors of the armed thugs that orchestrated mayhem during the 2020 #ENDSARS protests was in response to the statement by the Inspector General of Police Mr. Kayode Egbetokun who reiterated the commitment and preparedness of the Nigeria Police Force to protect all peaceful protesters.

Ahead of the planned nationwide protest, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has said security agencies will under no circumstances, allow a repeat of 2020 Endsars where lives and properties were lost.

The IGP disclosed this at a meeting with heads of paramilitary agencies on Tuesday.

He reiterated the commitment and preparedness of the Nigeria Police Force to protect all peaceful protesters.

The meeting which held behind closed doors is being attended by heads of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCS), and the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC).

HURIWA however expressed disappointment that the security forces and especially the Nigeria Police Force failed to uncover the identities of the then alleged government officials or even security heads who were perceived and widely alleged to have paid armed thugs to infiltrate the protest grounds of the participants of the nationwide #ENDSARS peaceful demonstrations and violently disrupted the proceedings all over the country.

“It could be recalled that before the #ENDSARS protests commenced, certain personalities linked to the then government were caught on videos that circulated on the social media threatening to deal with the protesters. Why were these individuals not investigated especially when bloody violence was visited on the otherwise peaceful #ENDSARS campaigners?”

HURIWA also stated that some elements in a section of the country also insinuated that the #ENDSARS protests were targeted at their kinsman the then president, Muhammadu Buhari just as the Rights group claimed that some threats were also made against the protesters by those who saw those protesters as working to undermine the Muhammadu Buhari’s government then.

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