A human rights lawyer and activist, Tope Temokun, has called for the immediate and unconditional release of protesters arrested in Ondo State.
The lawyer made this call in a press release made available to *Starnews NG* today, in response to the crackdown on peaceful #EndBadGovernance protesters in Ondo State.
*Starnews NG* earlier reported that the Nigerian Police had arrested the 2024 African Action Congress (AAC) governorship candidate in Ondo State, Kunle Wizeman Ajayi.
He was arrested alongside Patrick Owolabi, a member of the Take It Back (TIB) Movement.
Others arrested include Oluwatobi Akinkuotu, Kolawole Kumuyi, Olalekan Oladehinde, and others.
The arrests occurred in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, during the grand finale of the nationwide protest against hunger, hardship, and poor governance, known as #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria.
Reacting, Temokun described the arrest as a “deceitful crackdown on peaceful protesters,” saying it is “uncalled for, disgraceful, and an act of playing to the gallery to win accolades from the top.”
“The resort to the arrest of peaceful protesters by men of the Nigerian Police in Akure today is an unnecessary dissipation of energy and is uncalled for, particularly given the manner in which the protesters coordinated their protest and the engagement that transpired between the protesters and the police before the arrest,” he said.
“As of yesterday, a letter was submitted by the leadership of the Take It Back movement to the Nigerian Police in Akure, notifying the police of today’s protest and inviting them for protection.
“This morning, the protesters, with placards in hand, commenced their peaceful procession in the city, around NEPA roundabout, and this arrest took place after the protesters had been engaged by the leadership of the police team, who came and demanded that the protesters proceed to a designated approved venue, which was said to be ARCHADE. Unknown to the protesters, who were promptly complying by filing out to the said approved venue, it was merely a design to trap them in isolation and arrest them. As the protesters were heading there peacefully, they were ambushed by the arresting team of the Nigerian Police, who were acting on orders from above, and arrested the AAC governorship candidate, Kunle Ajayi Wizeman, Patrick Owolabi, Oluwatobi Akinkuotu, Kolawole Kumuyi, Olalekan Oladehinde, and others.
“This style of engaging citizens with deceit in civic matters will not only lead to a further loss of total trust and confidence in the police, it is very disgraceful and smacks of playing to the gallery to win empty accolades from the government!
“The right to protest peacefully is still a right enshrined in the Constitution, and neither the Police nor the government has the power to take away what the Constitution has granted the citizens. There is no food in this country, and the citizens are hungry. There are no jobs. There are no good roads. There is no proper health insurance or assurance. There is no security. The only thing Nigerian citizens can truly claim to have today is their right to their voice, the right of expression, and the right to protest, and when the government reacts to the exercise of these rights with crackdowns, it is an invitation to lawlessness, which will ultimately and inevitably reign when the citizens are pushed further to the wall.”
He further stated, “The arrests that took place are highly condemnable and remain condemned. If the government has any evidence of violence from the protesters, it should come forward with it.
“I am not unaware of the cowardly positions of some who sing the government’s tune, postulating that while protest is constitutional, it is not needed now for fear of it degenerating. That is so cowardly and embarrassing. Only vibrant and courageous youths move a nation forward. What we need is not the negative rationalisation of permanently silencing the citizens with the blackmail of protest degeneration, making anti-democratic theses and statements to recreate the youths into a docile bunch who will suffer without a voice, but a competent and civilised police force that knows how to carry out its statutory duties of protection and civic engagement whenever the citizens exercise their civic rights.
“Ondo State will not and must never recede to the disgraceful corner of docile history where the youths will only attend universities and acquire education and training that will qualify them merely for the positions of political aides, who will fight the truth in defence of their livelihood and turn into the youth wing and mouthpiece of any politician in power. There must be room for those who still hold their conscience dear, the brainy, vibrant youths and intellectuals of the great state, who won’t just be trained to seek appointments and sustenance to defend those in government but will continue to raise the proud banner of democratic principles by calling on their government to account from time to time.”
He also called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, “as the Chief Security Officer of the State, to whom the Commissioner of Police within the state is constitutionally responsible on matters of security, to order the release of those arrested during this protest unconditionally, as they pose no security threat to the state—unlike the hunger and pressure unleashed on the people nationwide by the APC government. The process of demanding good governance must continue! Protest is not, and will never be, a crime, no matter what!”
Similarly, the Take It Back (TIB) Movement condemned the police’s actions and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Ajayi and Owolabi.
In a Twitter post, the TIB movement wrote:
“It’s unfortunate that the @PoliceNG is yet to learn. The continued clampdown on peaceful #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters is a total shame. We condemn the unlawful arrest of Ajayi Wizeman & Patrick Owolabi in Ondo State and demand their immediate and unconditional release!”
