The Nigerian Police Force on Tuesday again showed its brutal face when a nervous Presidency unleashed it on law abiding ‘resume or resign’ protesters in Abuja.
A cameraman with Silverbird Television, Femi Togun, and a protester, Theophilus Abumagada, were among those wounded as untrained policemen fired tear gas canisters to disperse the protesters, who were merely demanding the return of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President has been absent from duty since May 7, 2017 when he embarked on a second medical trip to the United Kingdom.
Togun was reportedly assaulted by eight policemen, who slapped and dragged him to the ground.
His camera was also unlawfully confiscated but was later released by his molesters.
Mr. Abumagada, who was taken to the Federal Staff Clinic at the Federal Secretariat Complex, choked on the police tear gas.
An STV reporter, Amadin Uyi, also narrated how he was beaten up by the policemen for covering the protest.
It was a case of the presidency using brute force to muzzle Press freedom.
Uyi said, “The policemen beat me up and also slapped me. When they saw my cameraman recording the assault, about eight of them attacked him. When he fell, then they dragged him on the ground.”
“They seized our camera, but later released it. Femi’s (Togun) hand was bruised and he sustained an injury in his leg.”
Togun also said that the policemen molested him because he recorded the assault on his colleague.
“They attacked me when they saw me filming them as they were assaulting Uyi; they took my camera and dragged me on the ground,” he said.
The protesters from four civil society groups have since Monday been demanding the return of Mr. Buhari.
The protesters had embarked on a sit-out at the Unity Fountain, Maitama, to press home their demand on Tuesday when armed policemen, who were indifferent at first, suddenly asked them to leave.
The order was lawfully disregarded, nevertheless the police employed the use water cannons and fire tear to force compliance.
Star artiste, Mr. Charles Oputa, aka Charlie Boy and the protest convener, Deji Adeyanju, initially resisted the water cannons, but later got choked and succumbed. Charlie Boy was seen in a video posted on Youtube as he slumped after he choked on the police teargas
Mr. Adeyanju has lambasted the government for unleashing the police on harmless citizens demanding to know the health status of their President.
According to him, Buhari was not a private citizen and that it was within the people’s right to demand and know the status of their President.
He said, “This government only has a hammer, so everything appears to be a nail. They do not understand that the people have the right to ask about the health status of the President.
“The President is not a private citizen; he is a public official elected by the people and he is accountable to the people of Nigeria.”
The protest conveyer described the attack by the police as barbaric and assured that protesters would not be deterred by the intimidation.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday), the sit-out continues at Unity Fountain and we urge other Nigerians to join us as we continue to ask the right questions.”
Charly Boy, also promised that the groups would not back down on the demand for the President’s resumption or resignation.
He said the Nigerian Senate is a monumental failure for allegedly failing to demand details of Buhari’s sickness. He was responding to call by the Senate that he should leave President Buhari alone because he has not broken any law as a result of his long absence.
He said, “I am disappointed in this country. But let it be known that no amount of intimidation by security agencies will deter us from demanding explanations from government. They must be accountable to Nigerians because they were elected into power by us.”
Meanwhile the Nigeria Police have denied the allegations and claimed that they only dispersed hoodlums who infiltrated the protest.
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command defended the assault, saying policemen intervened to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
The command spokesman, Anjuguri Manzah, in a statement said police operatives only dispersed hoodlums.
He said, “The FCT Police command in the early hours of today, August 8, 2017, intervened and prevented a breakdown of law and order, and disturbance of public peace in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja by dispersing some hoodlums and other criminal elements that infiltrated the protest being carried out by a group of concerned Nigerians, under the auspices of Our-Mumu-Don-do Movement, at Unity Fountain, Maitama, Abuja.”
He reminded Nigerians that the coalition had protested on Monday with the police providing security, agreeing that the protesters had rights to peaceful assembly, association and movement.
“However, the same group assembled at the same venue, but allowed miscreants and other unruly individuals to infiltrate the protests.
“The hoodlums blocked major roads adjoining the Unity Fountain, obstructing traffic and preventing movements of other innocent citizens, exhibiting unruly behaviours and other violent acts likely to cause the breakdown of law and order and disturbance of public peace,” Manzah said.
But Charlie Boy has said that the Police is lying and that their account of what happened does not represent the truth. He said he was brutalised during the protest organised on Tuesday at the Unity Fountain in Abuja by ‘Concerned Nigerians’.
Oputa said that one of the anti-riot policemen, who attacked the protesters with tear-gas and water cannons, hit him in the eye with the butt of his rifle.
He said, “We were not even up to 10 people that set out for the Unity Fountain. When we got there, we met close to 200 policemen. Initially they tried to stop us from going further. But we explained to them that ours would be a peaceful demonstration. I gave them the assurance that we were not going to anywhere else and the protest would not be hijacked by hoodlums.
“Before we knew it, they started with the water cannon. Then they tear-gassed us and set their dogs against us. Worried, I went to one of the policemen who was standing near me and asked him why they resorted to such action. Instead of responding to me, he suddenly raised the butt of his gun and hit me in the eye.”
According to him, he was immediately rushed to a clinic for treatment. Charlie Boy expressed concern over the another victim, Uyi, the TV journalist, who he said was severely beaten up by the police.
“I saw them beating up that man and smashing his camera. I hope they have not killed him,” he said.
The brutality of the police and the decision of the Buhari Government to send them to stop the protest with brute force has been heavily condemned by Nigerians.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yusuf Ali, and civil society organizations said the people had the rights to protest, adding that the police should be trained in protest-control strategy.
Ali said, “The way our police manage protests and strikes is outdated and primitive. There is no other place in the world that when the people go on protests, the police will carry guns. The protest-control strategy of the Nigeria police is very primitive. There must be a proper training for them on how to manage protests.
“The people are right to make demands. The constitution really does not specify how long the president can be out of the country. We know that he has legitimately transmitted power.
“The way to go is that there should be an amendment of the constitution that if a president or a governor is out of the country for a number of days on account of ill health, then his office becomes vacant.”
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights President, Malachy Ugwummadu, also said, “The right of every Nigerian to freely associate, assemble and express themselves is guaranteed under Sections 39 and 40 of the constitution.
“The police cannot infringe on the rights of citizens to freely enjoy these rights. The police also got it wrong because these people no longer need their permission to assemble. The Court of Appeal in the case of the Inspector-General of Police versus ANPP had struck out the Public Protection Order in favour of the rights of Nigerians.
“On the people’s demands, they are right because President Buhari should have long declared a state of emergency in the country’s health sector. As it is now, our health sector cannot sustain life.”
Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has also condemned the police assault on the journalist working with one of his media outlets.
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