africa – Nigeria Solidarity

Victory At Last! #EndBadGovernance Activists ‘Treason’ Trial Cancelled

Pressure forces Nigerian Government to anabdon sham trial of Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 other #EndBadGovernance protestors charged with treason and terrorism

Today, December 10, 2025, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja struck out the treason and terrorism charges against Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 others. In his ruling, Justice Emeka lamented that the prosecuting counsel had shown a lack of diligence and seriousness in the case they initiated against the protesters. Subsequently, Michael Lenin and his co-defendants, who were detained and put on trial over the August 2024 nationwide #EndBadGovenance protest against mass hunger, economic hardship and anti-poor policies of Bola Tinubu government, were acquitted. Other activists are Daniel Akande, Mosiu Sadiq Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Angel Love Innocent, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khamis, Buhari Lawal, Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, Suleiman Yakubu. Abdulsalam Zubairu.

Since the arraignment of the 11 #Endbadgovernance protesters on September 2, 2024, after unlawfully spending many weeks in police cells and prison, the Nigerian government had wasted public resources to sustain charges of treason and terrorism against them without being able to prosecute their own case. Rather, the police prosecutors repeatedly employed different delayed tactics and sought adjournment after adjournment. At least all of them were eventually given bail and freed from prison.

We recall that on June 25, 2025, Justice Emeka warned the prosecuting counsel to desist from further delaying the trial and expressly stated that the case would be struck out if the police further attempted to postpone the trial, following the resilient agitations of the legal representatives of the activists. The judge was actually compelled to strike out this case due to the relentless campaign of our comrades and supporters locally and internationally. Repeatedly public protests were held around the world while trade unions and civil rights organisations demanded this trial stopped. It was the same pressure that forced the government and police to abandon the trial as the police prosector was absent in court today. Left to the government and police, they were prepared to perpetually tie the treason trial around the neck of the #EndBadGovernance activists in order to serve as deterrent to further mass protests against its anti-poor policies and attacks on democratic rights.

It is fitting and instructive that the news of the court victory came when activists were again on the streets of Lagos, Ibadan and elsewhere in Nigeria to use the occasion of the December 10 World Human Rights Day to highlight and put on the front burner the demand for an immediate end to the sham trial of 11 #Endbadgovernance activists and an end to other instances of attacks on democratic rights in Nigeria. The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) expresses a profound appreciation to all the lawyers who rendered free legal service and comrades, supporters and activists locally and internationally for their sustained pressure and unflinching support throughout the periods of arrest, detention, and trial.

We consider this a victory, not just for the 11 #Endbadgovernance activists, but also for all Nigerians desirous of a better society. This is an example that we can fight and defeat a tyrannical government like the Tinubu government. Nigerian working people and youths must continue to fight consistently against bad governance and pro-capitalist policies of the government.

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) demands a public apology from the Nigerian government to all acquitted #Endbadgovernance activists, return of the properties and unfreezing of the bank accounts. We also demand adequate compensation for the 11 activists and all victims of abuse during and after the #Endbadgovernance protest. We also demand the immediate freedom of all the jailed #Endbadgovernance protesters sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Borno and withdrawal of charges against anybody still on trial over the August 2024 #Endbadgovernance protest. We maintain that protest against anti-poor policies and bad governance is a democratic right and must not be criminalized.

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary

YRC email: youth_rights@yahoo.com

YRC Condemns Third Postponement of #ENDBADGOVERNANCE Protesters ‘Treason’ Trial

TREASON TRIAL OF 11 #ENDBADGOVERNANCE PROTESTERS: DROP ALL THE CHARGES NOW

WE CONDEMN THE CONTINUOUS DELAY OF THE TRIAL AND THE PERSISTENT ABSENCE OF THE JUDGE

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) strongly condemns the continuous delay of the trial of Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 other #Endbadgovernance protesters who were charged with treason by the Tinubu administration over their involvement in the #Endbadgovernance protest which erupted last year August. We also condemn the persistent absence of the trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja, each time the case has come up for hearing in the last five months. As a result, the accused activists are yet to have their day in court over six months after they were charged. This delay has caused the accused activists enormous psychological and material strain. We hereby call on the Federal Government to stop wasting the time of the activists over a sham trial. Instead of wasting their time and taxpayers’ money any further, we hereby demand immediate dismissal of the false charges and a public apology to the 11 #EndBadGovernance protesters.

After overcoming the hurdles of a stringent bail conditions, the activists looked forward to the date for trial which was first set for November 8, 2024. Shockingly, the Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, who set the date was absent on the day the trial was supposed to commence. Consequently, a new date of January, 29, 2025 was set. The activists, who had no reason to be scared of the trumped-up charges against them, had showed up in court, however, again it was no-show for the judge. The absence of the judge meant that a new date had to be agreed on. Hence, March 26 was chosen as a new date for the commencement of trial. Again, the Judge was not in court on this new date! The best explanation we have gotten so far is that the judge is on vacation. The baffling question is how a judge would fix and agree to date of court sitting on three different occasions and be absent? And how many vacations does a Judge take within six months? As far as we are concerned, this is a deliberate attempt to stall the trial and ensure the threat of a death penalty continues to hang on the neck of these innocent Nigerians. We condemn this ‘hide and seek’ gimmick.

We seize this opportunity to call for the dropping of all charges against the 11 #Endbadgovernance protesters charged with treason, and all other #Endbangovernance protesters across the country. We strongly believe that the trial is a ploy by the government not only to criminalize peaceful protest, but to deter Nigerians from protesting against the hardship and misery caused by the pro-capitalist policies of the Tinubu administration. It is important to add that the government through the Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, had discharged and discontinued similar suit of treason against 119 protesters who were mostly minors after their arraignment in court on November 1, 2024. That arraignment was a gory sight, many of the children had been starved and detained for weeks at different detention centers, including at Abattoir, the notorious police detention centre in Abuja where the 11 Endbadgovernance were also kept for weeks.

We are surprised that the same reprieve has not been extended to Adaramoye Michael Lenin and other protesters still on trial despite the fact that the charges against all of them are broadly the same. We believe that the further entertainment of this matter will not only lead to a wastage of the precious time of the court but also help sustain a national and global embarrassment to the image of Nigeria. Solidarity protests have been held at Nigerian embassies or diplomatic offices in a number of countries in Europe and the US at every court day since last September. We are also aware that Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of British Labour Party, recently signed a petition to the Nigerian High Commissioner in the UK, calling for the withdrawal of charges against #Endbadgovenance protesters and an end to attacks on democratic rights of Nigerians by the government This is why we would like to urge the Attorney General of the Federation to use his power to ensure that the time of the court is not further wasted on what is clearly a frivolous and malicious prosecution.

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary

Youth Rights Campaign

Email: youth_rights@yahoo.com

No to Imposition of State of Emergency in Rivers State:

Working People Should Reject Tinubu Government’s Growing Descent to Civilian Dictatorship

No Illusion in Any Capitalist Politician. For a Mass Working People Political Alternative

Statement of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)

The imposition of the emergency rule in Rivers State is the latest of the anti-democratic actions from the stable of President Bola Tinubu. Recently, he forced 36 legislators of the 40-member Lagos House of Assembly who had democratically removed their speaker to reverse their decision because they did not have his blessing. Though, now in Abuja as the President, he still calls the shots in Lagos, where is a former governor, like the lord of the manor. Besides, his government regularly attacks democratic rights of working people and youth including rights to freedom of expression and protest.

Clearly throwing his official heavyweight behind Nyesom Wike, who is in political standoff with his estranged political godson Governor Sim Fubara over the control of the soul and resources of the oil-rich state, President Tinubu on March 18 suspended the Rivers governor and the State House of Assembly and appointed former Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.) as the sole administrator for the next six months. In other words, with the earlier dissolution of the local government councils on the order of the Supreme Court which nullified the process of their emergence, there is no semblance of democratic institution in Rivers State. So, what obtains at present is reminiscent of a military rule.

According to Tinubu in his national broadcast over the state of emergency, the administrator will not make new laws but he is free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary. However, such regulations are subject to the consideration and approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) where Wike sits as a Minister. Though, the House of Representatives passed a resolution that the National Assembly should take over the role of the Rivers State assembly, it does not really reduce the direct influence of the FEC on the Sole Administrator. In other words, Wike, the leader of a party to the conflict that purportedly prompted the suspension of the governor, will be involved in running the state as a FEC member. Though, the conflict is officially between the state governor and the vast majority members of the state House of Assembly, it is Wike who is pulling the strings of the latter.

To be clear, it should be stressed that Fubara, who as Rivers State Accountant General was shielded by Wike from arrest by the EFCC over corruption allegations, is not a saint in this conflict. Fubara callously demolished the Rivers House of Assembly complex and prevented the majority of members from sitting apparently to avert a possible impeachment. He derecognized 27 members in a 31-person assembly and was undemocratically dealing with four members with whom he was governing the state including on laws, budget and appointments.

It was a judgement by the Supreme Court delivered on February 28 which tilted the scales against the governor as it favoured the 27 legislators. The judgement reversed all the undemocratic actions of the governor. Therefore, after the initial grandstanding, Fubara began to make move to play ball most likely on the terms of the assembly members. For instance, following the order of the Supreme Court, he dissolved the local government councils and made a move to re-present the 2025 budget proposal which had been earlier approved by his 4-member assembly.

Therefore, there was no immediate basis for the impeachment process that the state assembly initiated against him shortly before the declaration of state of emergency. Rather, it was the resolve of Wike and his sidekick assembly members to get even with the governor that prompted the plan to remove him.

Indeed, it was not impossible that the notice of impeachment itself was a calculated tactic from the Wike camp with the support of Tinubu to create a basis for the imposition of the emergency rule. It was not likely for the impeachment plan to succeed, if it had gone ahead, as the Chief Judge of the state, who is required by the constitution to set up a panel to investigate the allegations leveled against the governor, is an ally of the governor.

No doubt, Governor Fubara fell for the trap. At a gathering shortly before his suspension, he had made a speech which only thinly veiled his endorsement of a threat of attacks on oil and gas pipelines made by some Rivers state youth should he be impeached. However, it is not yet clear whether any of the pipeline explosions that took place in the state recently had any direct link to the threat or the political crisis in the state. Indeed, according to media reports, findings have shown that some reported explosions at oil facilities were false. “For instance, the viral video on social media alleging that suspected militants bombed two Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) flow stations at Cawthorne Channel in the State was false. It was confirmed that the explosion was an old clip from a February 19, 2025, explosion at Cawthorne Channel 1 in Iloamatoru, Bonny, which claimed three lives” (Guardian March 23, 2025).

Nonetheless, Tinubu cited “disturbing incidents of vandalism of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them” as one of the grounds for the imposition of the state of emergency. However, typical of bourgeois politicians, this is a demonstration of blatant hypocrisy by Tinubu who as an opposition figure in 2013 had in condemnation of the state of emergency on Borno, Adamawa and Yobe by the then President Goodluck Jonathan, argued that state governors had no real power to guarantee security. Then in his words Tinubu said: “No Governor of a state in Nigeria is indeed the Chief Security Officer. Putting the blame on the Governors, who have been effectively emasculated, for the abysmal performance of the government at the centre which controls all these security agencies, smacks of ignorance and mischief.”

Truly, it was political mischief, not the “actual breakdown of public order and public safety” or the danger of it, that prompted the removal of the state governor. While it is for Wike to regain his fierce hold on the state and its resources, to Tinubu, it is a cold move and desperation to have an ally or a weakened opposition figure in control of the state ahead of the 2027 presidential election. It should be recalled that the local and international observers expressly believed that 2023 presidential election in Rivers State was brazenly rigged in favour of Tinubu by Wike as the then state governor. And, Wike, who was rewarded by Tinubu as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja and who has his ‘yes men’ in the national leadership of the PDP, has in further return of favour helped cripple that party such that it is unable play any real or seeming opposition to Tinubu.

Tinubu, with the lowest ever share of votes to become a President in the history of Nigeria, has even had his limited electoral support originally based on ethnic and religious affiliation eroded because of his unabashed, anti-poor neo-liberal capitalist policies which have had devasting effects on the vast majority. Therefore, it is not out of place to conclude that to him his re-election bid will be a do or die affair. In other words, he is prepared to do anything no matter how undemocratic and unlawful in order to be officially declared the winner of the 2027 presidential election.

So whichever way one looks at it, Tinubu’s declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State stands as an assault on civil rule. The process of the implementation of the declaration itself which saw both chambers of the National Assembly approve the undemocratic policy without first ascertaining quorum and amidst allegations of bribery is an additional indication of the absurdity of the all exercise. Therefore, the working class, the youth, unions, social movements and all credible forces must condemn and reject this development. To this extent, we welcome a joint statement of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) in which they “unequivocally condemn Mr. President’s hasty and unconstitutional declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.”

However, we disagree with them that “beyond the political and legal implications, this unjustified state of emergency will … lead to job losses, wage cuts, and economic hardship for thousands of workers in both the formal and informal sectors”. This is because the assertion gives an impression that job losses, wage cuts, and economic hardship were not a feature or reality in Rivers State, nay Nigeria, already long before Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule. The fact is that as a result of the neo-liberal capitalist policies of Tinubu, which are supported by all the governors including Fubara and which the leaderships of the NLC and TUC have failed to seriously oppose or fight against, the economic hardship and poor economic indices, which preexisted the Tinubu government, have been greatly worsened. Indeed, the national minimum wage of N70,000 won by the NLC and TUC in 2024 is actually a wage cut if compared with N30,000 minimum wage won in 2019 as a result of inflation triggered by the anti-poor capitalist policies of Tinubu.

Nonetheless, we call on the NLC and TUC not to limit their opposition to the state of emergency in Rivers to a mere statement. They, together civil society organizations, should also organize a nationwide mass protest and other legitimate actions in order to make a bold statement against an action of Tinubu they describe as “not only unlawful but a direct assault on democracy”. But it should not also be lost on the organized labour that Fubara in the course of the conflict was also a culprit of “direct assault on democracy”.

Good enough, the Rivers State councils of both the NLC and TUC have already indicated that “the organised labour may be compelled to take strategic union actions which might disrupt national economic activities if our demands are not met within a reasonable timeframe.” However, this must not be a mere hot air.

Moreover, the protest we have proposed and whatever action Labour may plan must not be limited to rejecting the emergency rule in Rivers alone but generally include all the attacks on democratic rights of working people and youth and the descent to civilian dictatorship, something which has become a feature of the Tinubu government. In order to ride roughshod over the working people with its anti-poor policies, stifling of democratic rights including freedom of expression and criminalization of protest have become a state policy of the Tinubu government. For instance, over 2000 persons including minors were incarcerated for about two months in police detention and prison in connection with #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest against mass hunger and economic hardship in August last year. Not done, Tinubu government has preferred trumped-up charges including treason which carries death penalty, before Federal High Court Abuja, against 11 activists including Adaramoye Michael Lenin, National Coordinator of YRC and a member of DSM because, according to the police court paper, they carried placards with inscription: “End Bad Government”! Many young people and bloggers have also been detained or made to face sham trial on undemocratic, fraudulent cyber laws.

The latest action of President Tinubu represents a concrete escalation in the situation in Nigeria. More and more, Tinubu regime is acting like a dictatorship in a bid to push through its anti-poor economic reforms and maintain political control while in the process undermining civil rule in the eyes of the masses especially the youth. This may have implication in the near future. At the moment, the truth will not be lost on many – that an ‘elected’ president enlisted elements of the military (even though retired) in an attempt to take control of an opposition-rule state ahead of the next general elections.

Going forward, while working people must resist attacks on democratic rights and any action or measure that tends to further erode even the limited democratic space which has been won, they must not have illusion in any capitalist politician or line behind any section of the capitalist ruling elite. The experiences since the return to the civilian rule in 1999, for instance, have shown that all capitalist politicians at all levels are prepared to unleash “direct assault on democracy” to advance their self-serving interests, and they all carry out anti-poor policies as a logical consequence of their inequitable, profit-first and greed-enabling capitalist system. Therefore, in order for the working people and youth to really enjoin what is popularly termed in Nigeria as “dividends of democracy” there is need, in addition to consistent struggle against anti-poor capitalist policies, for a mass working party that could wrest power from the thieving capitalist ruling elite and begin to organize the country on the democratic basis of socialist planning.

Peluola Adewale

Organising Secretary

For Democratic Socialist Movement

President Tinubu’s Claim of Decline in food prices amidst mass hunger and sufferings is Fallacious

Only economy and agricultural system run on the basis of needs and not profits through massive state investments can guarantee food security

FFRC calls on farmers, market men /women and all suffering Nigerians to organize and demand an end to hunger and cost of living crises

The attention of the Food and Farmers’ Rights Campaign (FFRC) has been drawn to a remark by the President Bola Tinubu, that his anti-poor neo-liberal capitalist economic policies have reduced the soaring prices of food items and brought reliefs to the fasting Muslim community and indeed Nigerians at large.

According to media reports, President Tinubu made this remark in a message to the Muslim community on Friday, February 28th, 2025. He was quoted as saying “the once-soaring prices of essential food items are now trending downward, providing much-needed relief to our fasting population and Nigerians”!

He went further by saying that “as the wet season approaches, we remain steadfast in boosting agricultural productivity. We are determined to enhance food production and ensure food security for all Nigerians”.

The FFRC wishes to note that contrary to President Tinubu’s claims, his pro-rich anti-poor economic policies as prescribed by the IMF/World bank, rather than brings reliefs, have brought untold and unprecedented hardships and sufferings of unimaginable proportions on the mass of poor suffering and fasting Muslim population. The policies have also made the vast majority of poor and working masses starved, and go hungry without food. Therefore, the claim of relief by President Tinubu is an insult to the sensitivity of poor suffering Nigerians, and also at the best a figment of his imagination!

Admittedly, FFRC notes that there are indeed marginal reductions in some prices of essential food items like rice, beans and garri. However these decreases fizzle into thin air and amount to nothingness when juxtaposed with the soaring cost of other food items like pepper, tomatoes, yam, egg, beef, dairy products, etc which have currently skyrocketed. In addition, the increments in fees across tertiary institutions nationwide; the current prohibitive house rents across cities; high cost of drugs and treatments in both public and private health institutions among others have made nonsense of President Tinubu’s touted ‘downward trends’ of soaring food prices.

So what the APC-led Tinubu’s government is doing is dishing out propaganda and gaslighting the general public in vain attempts at understating the deleterious and iniquitous effects of it fuel subsidy removal and the devaluation of the Naira for the suffering majority. The FFRC wishes to put on record that while the poor and working masses continue to gasp for breath under the choking anti-poor policies of the Tinubu government, the ruling elites, both the public office holders and big business bosses continue to corruptly fish in the socioeconomic and political murky waters.

The Tinubu government also claimed that “as the wet season approaches, we remain steadfast in boosting agricultural productivity. We are determined to enhance food production and ensure food security for all Nigerians”! The FFRC wishes to state without mincing words, that this would amount to sheer rhetoric and grandstanding, unless a determined struggle is waged to demand that government at all levels invest public funds in social services like affordable housing, electricity , education, healthcare system, agricultural productivity etc, placing same under democratic management and control, so as to meet the needs of the suffering majority and not profit for a few rich. With this it is possible to begin to guarantee food security and reduce cost of living crises. Any thing short of these would remain a mirage.

The FFRC also urges farmers’ market men and women, workers and the poor majority who are barely surviving, to come together and organize to demand that government reverse fuel subsidy removal, devaluation of the Naira, increase in electricity tariff, and other anti-poor policies which largely account for the current suffering and hardship.

Eko John Nicholas

National Coordinator

Food and Farmers’ Rights Campaign (FFRC)

Police Bullying of Amnesty International and Protesters Must End

YRC Warns the NPF to Desist from Bullying Amnesty International over Its Exposure of Police Misconduct and Brutal Crackdown on Peaceful Protests

We Stand by Amnesty International’s Report and Demand the Immediate Suspension of the IGP in Order to Create Room for an Independent and Transparent Probe

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) condemns the recent public statement issued by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) demanding an apology from Amnesty International over its report titled “Bloody August: Nigeria Government’s Violent Crackdown on #EndBadGovernance Protests” made by the group on the cruel conducts of officers of the Nigeria Police Force during and after the #Endbadgovernance protest last August. The police also demanded that Amnesty International issues a public retraction within seven days of the whole report which it dismissed as baseless, false and misleading.

We hereby warn the Nigerian Police Force to desist from bullying the Amnesty International. We also warn the NPF against any attempt to victimize workers or members of Amnesty International for daring to report the obvious truth.

As far as we are concerned, as a party accused of misconduct and a bloody crackdown, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has no moral authority whatsoever to adjudge the veracity of the allegations made by Amnesty International in its report let alone the audacity to begin to demand public retraction and apology. The right body that can cast judgement over the veracity or otherwise of Amnesty International’s revelation is a democratically-constituted and independent panel of inquiry. That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has failed to constitute such since last year when Amnesty International’s report came out is a clear indication that the President is shielding the police from answering for its crimes against humanity.

This becomes even more unacceptable when a body established by an Act of the National Assembly and funded from the federation account, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has already corroborated Amnesty International findings. In October last year, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Chief Tony Ojukwu SAN, in an interview with Vanguard (20 October 2024), accused the NPF of extra judicial murder of nothing less than 27 people during the protest.

So what then is false about report of the Amnesty International? Why has the police not asked the NHRC to also publicly retract their own claims and apologize for it? We reject this arm-twisting tactics by the Nigerian Police. You cannot kill innocent peaceful protesters and then turn around to begin to threaten those who boldly expose your crime.

For us, the NPF is only exhibiting blatant shamelessness and an attempt to further clamp down on dissent and cover-up the atrocities committed by its officers during the Endbadgovernance protest. The protest had the active participation of thousands of Nigerians who witnessed the gruesome attacks on them by the police – even journalists were not spared. There are numerous media reports confirming the cruelty of the NPF during the protest. The report by Amnesty International is a factual representation of the reality of Nigerians during the Endbadgovernance protests.

NPF, instead of accepting responsibility for the misconduct and attacks it carried out, is only trying to maliciously conceal the obvious truth. The so-called internal probe by the NPF force, where it falsely found itself innocent of the allegations made against it by Amnesty International and other civil society organizations like the Youth Rights Campaign, is an insult to the rationality of Nigerians. How do you become a jury in your case? We ask. The NPF is an indicted party in this case, yet it constituted a probe panel to white wash itself. The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) rejects the so-called in-house probe and investigation by the Nigeria Police force as it is an attempt to mislead Nigerians and create justification for an attack on dissent especially the Amnesty International.

We reiterate our call for the suspension of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to allow for an impartial, independent and public probe into the conducts of the police and other security forces during the #Endbadgovernance protest in August. We also call for the setting up of an independent probe panel democratically-constituted by the elected representatives of civil society, professional groups like the media, NBA, etc, trade unions and youth associations to investigate the various allegations against the police and other security agencies which includes usage include the use of excessive force, firing of live bullets, killing of peaceful protesters, torture of detainees as well as other heinous crimes as contained in the report of Amnesty International as well as several accounts of protesters and civil society groups.

We hereby join Amnesty International and all people of good conscience in calling for immediate action to address these injustices. Specifically, we demand the following:

The prosecution of all police officers and officers of all other security agencies including the DSS and the army responsible for the killings of innocent Nigerians during the protests
The immediate suspension of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to allow for an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings that occurred during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The constitution of an impartial and independent panel democratically-constituted by elected representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs), the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), trade unions and other pro-democracy organisations and youth groups to ensure transparency and accountability.
The withdrawal of all trumped-up charges against #Endbadgovernance protesters on trial and the immediate release of all those still in detention detained nationwide. We also demand a halt to the continued assaults on democratic rights.
Compensation for all victims of the police brutality and their families to help alleviate the impact of the tragic losses.
The meeting of all demands of the #Endbadgovernance protest in August.

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary

Youth Rights Campaign

Email: youth_rights@yahoo.com

Tinubu’s Approval of $20,000 Foreign Medical Treatment, Bullet-Proof SUVs and Other Perks for Top Generals Is An Insult To Nigerian Workers and Masses

CDWR Demands Reversal of All Extravagant Packages for the Tops of the Military, Judges and Top Political Office Holders

It is a disservice to the toiling Nigerian workers and masses for President Tinubu to approve jumbo salaries, allowances and outrageous perks for serving and retiring generals and top military officers while subjecting those who labour to create the wealth of the country to poverty wage and pension. This approval was done through the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the Nigerian Armed Forces wherein the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs and top military generals are entitled to $20,000 (about N32,000.000) local/international medical treatment annually, bullet-proof SUVs and other perks.

The $20,000 medical tourism abroad, similar to the benefits accruable to top political office holders (past governors and presidents), is one of the reasons our medical services and healthcare in Nigeria is largely neglected, poorly funded and backward. At a period when Nigerian doctors, nurses and other professionals are relocating abroad in droves largely because of poor remunerations and funding of public healthcare in the country, this approval of medical tourism for top generals is an ill-advised policy that will further deepen the rot in Nigeria’s healthcare system. Instead of promoting medical tourism, a serious government would prioritize adequate funding of public healthcare, improvement in the pay and conditions of healthcare professionals and the provision of medical insurance in order to ensure that all Nigerian citizens including political office holders patronize the public healthcare system.

Similarly, jumbo allowances and perks were approved for judges last year (August 2024) by President Tinubu that jerk up the salaries and allowances by 300%. Before the astronomical increase of their salaries and allowances, judges already earned jumbo emoluments. In the same vein, top political office holders like president, governors, legislators, ministers, etc award to themselves outrageous salaries and allowances aside from several other ‘legalized looting’.

That the same government and President Tinubu who finds it impossible to pay Nigerian workers living wage but conveniently approves all manners of jumbo salaries, allowances and perks for top political office holders, judges and military top brass speaks volume. Workers create wealth but the ruling capitalist politicians decide the allocation and in the process condemn workers to penury and misery. The N70, 000 minimum wage approved for workers cannot feed an average family and meet their other needs considering the high cost of living.

The capitalist government is paying and pampering military officers, judges and political office holders to enable it use them to hold down the working people and ensure the seamless exploitation of the working class.

The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) demands an end to this unfair and class-apartheid emolument system. The CDWR demands increment of workers’ wages/salaries to living wage and to be increased in line with inflationary rate. We also demand the abrogation of jumbo/outrageous salaries and allowances of political office holders, judges, top military officers and its reduction to the average wage and allowances of skilled workers.

Rufus Olusesan

National Chairperson

Chinedu Bosah

National Publicity Secretary

CDWR email: campaignworkers@yahoo.co.uk

From “Renewed Hope” to “Renewed Hopelessness”

By H.T. Soweto

Tinubu’s Capitalist Policies Have Failed! Time for a Socialist Alternative! At a recent high-level meeting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja in May this year, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery, said the following “I’d like to use this opportunity to express the whole lot of support of my government to the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu. We commend his agenda for its focus on priorities and delivery. We acknowledge that you have done a lot to put in place transparency and accountability”. (Press from the Office of the Vice President Kashim Shettima 17 May 2024). Similarly, in November, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, also commended “Nigeria’s decisive actions to reform the economy, accelerate growth and generate jobs for its vibrant population. The IMF strongly supports Nigeria on this journey.” (Punch Newspaper, 22 November 2024).

No doubt, millions of Nigerians must be wondering whether these high priests of global capitalism are talking about the same country as the one they live in when they commend Tinubu’s policies in such glowing tones. This is because over the past 16 months, their experience of the Tinubu government and its economic reforms is nothing but hopelessness and mass misery.

AN ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE

While on the campaign trail in 2023, Tinubu promised to reform the economy in order to usher in growth and development in all areas of life including agriculture, infrastructure, public education and health care and job provision. His vision for Nigeria was captured in a blueprint titled “Renewed Hope Agenda” wherein he pledged to build “a Nigeria, especially for our youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life” and one where “no parent is compelled to send a child to bed hungry, worried whether tomorrow shall bring food. He also pledged to “make basic healthcare, education, and housing accessible and affordable for all”, and to “generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity to give our people the requisite power to enlighten their lives, their homes, and their very dreams”.

Nearly two years after, none of these promises has been kept. Instead, Tinubu has succeeded in plunging the entire country into a new depth of hopelessness and mass misery. Between May 29, 2023 and now, the price of petrol has increased by about 355 percent thereby detonating an inflationary rise in the prices of all commodities. The result is what has been variously described as the worst cost of living crisis in a generation! Even though GDP growth has recently improved to 3.46% year-on-year in Q3 2024, the cost of living crisis persists. In fact, so bad is the situation that millions are starving as food prices have rocketed by 61 percent over the past one year. According to a United Nations estimate, nothing less than 35 million more Nigerians are at risk of acute starvation next year.

As we have previously observed, the key to the unfolding economic catastrophe in Nigeria was the decision of President Tinubu to implement IMF/World Bank prescribed economic reforms principally the abolition of petrol subsidy and the devaluation of the country’s currency. These reforms were carried out despite their attendant negative consequences for the productive capacity of the country and in expectation of promises of more usurious loans despite Nigeria’s already huge debt profile. In the last one year alone, nothing less than 11 multinational companies have exited Nigeria. The list includes Pfizer, PZ Cussons, GSK, Jumia Food, Bolt Food, Procter & Gamble etc. Gone with them are hundreds of jobs in an economy where unemployment is at over 40 percent – although the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) claims a lower figure of 5.3 percent by saying that anyone who works an hour a week is not unemployed! The exit of the companies is reportedly due to the impact of the increase in fuel price and devaluation of the Naira on business operations. Of course, this cannot entirely be true since manufacturers already passed the impact of the policies to consumers by raising prices yet it gives an insight into the confounding economic catastrophe the neoliberal reforms have created.

Aside operational costs, consumer spending capacity has declined seriously due to inflation and effect of naira devaluation on income. The recent increase in the national minimum wage from N30, 000 to N70, 000, though yet to be paid across the country, is unable to raise the living standards of the working class. This is because in real terms, the N70, 000 minimum wage is lower in value than the worth of N30, 000 minimum wage five years ago when it was first signed into law. Five years ago when the old minimum wage was signed into law, N30, 000 was worth $83 in dollar terms, now the new minimum wage of N70, 000 is worth only $42 in dollar terms today. In addition, over 80 percent of Nigeria’s workforce are employed in the unregulated informal sector where the minimum wage law is hardly respected by employers of labour. This therefore means that even if the new wage is fully paid by both the Federal and state governments, only a fraction of the workforce would benefit leaving millions of Nigerians still struggling to survive on poor wages amidst a rampaging inflation.

LABOUR’S WEAK RESPONSE

Sadly, the leadership of the labour movement have been unable to mount the kind of resistance that the situation demands. Instead, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have spent the last one and a half years pussyfooting despite the neoliberal offensive against the working class. Occasionally, the labour leadership issues bold and radical press statements to respond to the economic policies of the government but except for appeals and threats, the labour movement is yet to put forward a clear strategy to resist the onslaught. Indeed, given the obvious contradiction between radical words and inaction, the labour leaderships seem to have drawn the conclusion that it is often better to be silent.

But even the fewer press statements have become weak politically in terms of the position of the movement on the key neoliberal economic policies of government. So for instance, labour has abandoned the movement’s traditional rejection of fuel subsidy removal and call for reversal of any increase in the pump price of fuel. This ideological and political retreat has had a demoralizing effect on the union members and also the general movement as a whole, by adding to the mood of despair or feeling that nothing can be done.

But if the labour bureaucrats thought ‘bending the knee’ to the capitalist status quo would be of any benefit, the law of unintended consequences appears to have answered their illusion. At the end, the labour bureaucrats only succeeded in weakening their own position and this was made manifest in the way and manner the regime, emboldened by the retreat, recently harassed and arrested the NLC president, Joe Ajaero. The development was a lesson in how class collaborationism or social dialogue is a danger to the labour movement. Unfortunately, the leadership of the NLC and TUC do not seem to have fully learnt the lesson leaving the rank and file activists and Socialists the responsibility of campaigning to rebuild the trade union movement and refashion it as a platform of struggle.

FOR A 48 HOUR GENERAL STRIKE AND MASS PROTEST

Part of that would include campaigning within the labour movement for a properly prepared 48-hour general and mass protest to breathe new life into the mass resistance against the regimes’ anti-poor policies. Since early this year, a mass movement against the neo-liberal economic policies slowly built – its peak being the #Endbadgovernance protest that erupted for ten days in August. Instead of answers to the demands, protesters were met with water cannons and live bullets by the police and the army. Also, hundreds of protesters were arrested and detained including member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), Adaramoye Michael Lenin, who, with others, is now standing trial for treason at the moment.

A new report by Amnesty International titled ‘Bloody August: Nigerian Government’s Violent Crackdown on #Endbadgovernance protests’ has exposed the chilling details of the bloody repression which left at least 24 dead. “In almost all cases the victims were shot by the police – firing live ammunition at close range, often at the head or torso, suggesting that they were shooting to kill. Of the survivors interviewed, two protesters suffered gunshot injuries after being shot in the arm and leg by the police. Several survivors were suffocated by indiscriminate use of tear gas” Amnesty International said in the report.

Due to the scale of the repression which continues even up till now, plus labour’s inaction, the mass movement has slowly stalled but the overall situation continues to worsen. In fact, between August and now, petrol prices have gone up at least twice! Now as the year ends, many working families are bracing for one of the worst yuletide in Nigeria’s recent history due to the economic situation. In this situation, a call for a two-day general strike and mass protest especially starting early next year can help to reignite the mass movement against the regime’s neo-liberal offensive.

However, even in the likely situation that the NLC and TUC leadership fail to call a general strike, there is still a need for activists to begin to discuss how to prepare for the next stage of the struggle. For us in the DSM, we think that there should be plan for new nationwide actions starting from February next year. To make this achievable, groups and organizations like the Joint Action Front (JAF), Take it Back (TIB), #Endbadgovernance Movement, ASCAB, TPAPM, Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement (NPFM) and others need to discuss to draw up a common plan and programme.

A POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE NOW AND FOR 2027

Linked to this is the need for a mass workers and poor people’s political alternative to fight for political power. One indubitable fact that has been proven in the last 24 years of civil rule is that unless the working class seize political power and begin to run Nigeria on Socialist basis, none of the fundamental economic and political contradictions facing Nigeria can be resolved.

Unfortunately, the Labour Party (LP) registered by the trade unions has not been able to play the role of such a political alternative despite the significant support its Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, got in the 2023 general elections. Peter Obi is a supporter of capitalism – the same social and economic system and programme that is behind the crisis plaguing Nigeria. Many of Obi’s young supporters are genuinely interested in changing Nigeria. Many of them are playing important roles in the struggle to challenge the anti-poor policies of the Tinubu regime and especially the #Endbadgovernance movement which erupted in August. As the class struggle unfolds, the best of them are bound to draw the conclusion soon that what is needed is a democratically run political party and candidates that stand fully opposed to capitalism.

But what would in particular hasten this radicalization in mass consciousness is the building of a mass party of the working class, youth and poor masses on Socialist programme. Such a party involved in the day-to-day struggle of the working masses and radical youth, unlike the Labour Party (LP) which distances itself, will demonstrate very clearly what kind of party is needed to liberate Nigeria. While we of the DSM are committed to the ongoing effort at seeing the possibility of reclaiming and repositioning the LP as a genuine working people party, we strongly hold that left activists should at the same time look outside the LP for an alternative.

The African Action Congress (AAC) led by its Presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, has demonstrated clear consistency by remaining steadfast at the polls and in class struggle over the past few years. Although not yet a fully-rounded Socialist party although some socialists work within it, the AAC working with other left groups including the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), the PRP Vanguard, NPFM, remnants of the National Conscience Party (NCP), ASCAB, TPAPM, the Movement of the People (MOP) and left activists working in the LP, can become the rallying point or nucleus on the road to building such a mass political alternative. But to do this require that the left is able to overcome the inertia and division that keeps it apart by working out a common programme for joint work and intervention. Obviously, we may not agree on everything but a joint action programme would be a basis for the start of activity.

Only this kind of political preparation can place the Nigerian working class, youth and poor masses at a vantage position to seize any opportunities that may present itself to change the fortune of this country for the better by fighting for immediate improvements and building a movement that is capable of taking political power and enthroning a workers and poor people’s government that will carry out Socialist programmes.

————————————————————————

MINIMUM WAGE: Workers and Labour Leaders Need to Fight for Full Implementation and Resist Anti-poor Policies

Frequent Fuel Price Hikes Worsen Impoverishment of the Masses

For a 48-hour general strike as first step! Now!

A Conference of Trade Unions, Left Activists and Socialists to Discuss Alternative to Neo-Liberal Capitalist Programme is Needed

The frequent increase in the price of petrol is yet another proof that there is no let off for working people and the poor from the devastating attacks on the living standards by Bola Tinubu’s government. The latest official hike in October means that the price has risen by the whopping 430 percent from N198 to N1030 officially, since May 29 2023 when Tinubu proclaimed that “petrol subsidy is gone”. This is part of a neo-liberal offensive, which also includes devaluation of the naira, that has seriously compounded the economic crisis that actually preceded Tinubu’s government coming to office. As a result, many Nigerians have been plunged deeper into poverty, depreciation of quality of life and economic hardship, while large parts of the economy are imploding and society shows signs of disintegration. We join the working masses and youth to condemn the hike in petrol price and call for the reversal of all anti-poor capitalist policies which are at the root of the current mass economic hardship.

By Peluola Adewale

Certainly, action is needed to get out of this mess. And truly, working people and youth, through a series of pockets of protests against mass hunger which broke out in February and #EndBadGovernance protests which started off in August, have demonstrated an indication of their preparedness for mass resistance against the anti-poor policies. We of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) are committed to contributing to the ongoing efforts at building the #EndBadGovernance movement such that it is capable of consistently organizing a series of nationwide mass actions to win immediate steps to improve living standards and also provide a basis for a mass political alternative.

At the same time, we call on workers and trade union activists to agitate at workplaces, factory floors and trade union organs for the leadership of the organized labour especially the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to act responsibly and seriously in defence of the interests of ordinary workers. Sadly, the labour leadership at best hardly go beyond radical words and token actions in the face of the raging neo-liberal attacks. There have also been different disturbing examples of labour leaders issuing ultimatums or threats without any follow-up action despite the government ignoring the demands or even doubling down with further attacks.

NO SERIOUS FIGHTBACK

Sadly, it is the lack of a serious fightback from the NLC and TUC that has handed Tinubu’s government a field day to confidently unleash vicious attacks on workers and ordinary people. For instance, the current Labour leadership have not held any protest or strike over any fuel price hike, despite of at least four such hikes since Tinubu assumed office. At the same time, they turn a blind eye to the ruinous policy of the naira devaluation. There was also a deafening silence to the wave of outrageous fee hikes in tertiary institutions. It appears these leaders have accepted, or capitulated to, the neo-liberal economic programme or are confused as a result of lacking a clear-cut alternative to the neo-liberal programme. Hence, they don’t put up a serious fight beyond making an occasional radical statement or calling for palliatives.

For instance, on September 3, the NLC issued a statement over the increase in petrol price from about N600 to N897, lamenting how they had been betrayed by Tinubu but promising that “In the coming days, the appropriate organs of the Congress will be meeting to take appropriate decisions which will be made public.” More than six weeks after, there was no such a meeting let alone any decision. However, while they were still dilly dallying or apparently believing that Nigerians “were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities” and hence saw no need to fight, the Tinubu government further increased the petrol price.

Similarly, in reaction to the latest petrol price increment, NLC President Joe Ajaero on Arise TV on October 11 said the NLC’s CWC or NEC should hold a meeting the following week “where a decision on the next line of action will be taken”. Actually, a joint meeting of NLC and TUC NECs was called for October 16. But it was initially a matter of conjecture on whether the meeting was held or not, as there was no public statement or communique, until Vanguard on October 23 did an exclusive story, credited to “sources at the NEC meeting”, on the reported outcome of the meeting. Worse, there has not been even an internal memo on the resolution of the meeting to affiliates and state councils many of whom were not represented at the meeting.

Why is it difficult for both the leadership of the NLC and TUC to do something which is as routine as issuing a communique or internal report of a meeting where important issues, which adversely affect the wellbeing of workers, including the rapid erosion of an ordinarily paltry minimum wage even before its implementation, were supposed to have been discussed? This could only be as a result of a lack of conviction or seriousness to fight back. Besides, given their socio-economic status, many labour leaders don’t wear the same shoe as ordinary workers and therefore don’t really know where it pinches. All these explain why the reported outcome of the meeting is filled with platitude and moralization, rather than a fighting program of action to force the Tinubu government to reverse the price hike and other anti-poor policies. Therefore, the labour leaders, as summed up by the Vanguard in the title of the story, merely demanded “halt to frequent petrol price increase, other anti-people policies” (Vanguard, October 23).

We also find it worrying that sometimes the NLC leadership apparently in a desperate bid to absolve themselves of responsibility would make a statement that suggests naivety. For instance, NLC President Ajaero once said that “One of the reasons for accepting N70,000 as national minimum wage was the understanding that the pump price of PMS would not be increased even as we knew that N70,000 was not sufficient.” (Premium Times, September 3, 2024). We see this as an excuse from labour leaders who are not prepared to fight against neo-liberal policies or to seriously struggle for a decent wage. Otherwise, it is belittling for labour leaders, who know their onions, to believe that a government that has not hidden from inception its commitment to a neo-liberal capitalist agenda and market fundamentalism would not increase petrol price.

Again, if there were determination to fight to protect the interest of workers, resisting capitalist attacks on living standards such as fuel price hike and struggling for decent wage would not be taken as being mutually exclusive. This is especially when inflation as a result of the neo-liberal policies of fuel price hike and naira devaluation had already meant that N70,000 being offered as the national minimum wage was much lower in value than N30,000 in April 2019 when that was signed into law.

Also, in its statement of October 9, the NLC challenged “the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for an inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy”. They also told the government to “be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country” These statements suggest that the NLC leadership does not know that the Tinubu government is clear about its blueprint which is based on neo-liberal program or they erroneously believe it is possible to tweak the neo-liberal programme, in a neo-colonial economy, in such a way to guarantee “an inclusive economic growth and national development”. Besides, it is the labour leaders, because of their refusal to fight for the reversal of the anti-poor policies, who in reality enable what they denigrate as “spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy” of Tinubu government.

WAY FORWARD

Ordinarily what labour leaders should do instead of calling for a blueprint, something which is not missing, is to present an alternative economic agenda. The problem is that it appears they themselves do not believe there is an alternative to neo-liberal capitalist programme of Tinubu government. It explains why they uncritically supported Peter Obi who also openly advocated petrol subsidy removal and devaluation of the naira in the 2023 election. While Obi is now making regular criticisms of the Tinubu government, some of which are accurate up to a point, he does so on the basis of supporting capitalism which is the root cause of Nigeria’s permanent underdevelopment and widespread poverty. This is why Obi’s programme does not offer a real way forward for the vast majority of Nigerians.

Therefore, we reiterate our call on workers and trade union activists to agitate within the trade union movement, workplaces and communities for the return to the tradition of Labour opposing neo-liberal capitalist agenda and capitalism itself which naturally militate against the interest of workers and the poor masses.

More importantly, there is need for a conference of the broad labour movement including trade unions, left activists and socialists to discuss what should be the alternative program to the prevailing capitalist economic program and how to rebuild Labour’s fighting traditions. At such a meeting, we will argue why a socialist alternative is the only program that can guarantee decent life and meet the aspiration of the vast majority of the populace on a permanent basis. This will also mean building of a mass movement to constantly and consistently resist anti-poor capitalist policies and at the same time struggle to take over political power and form a government on the basis of a socialist programme which entails a planning where the needs of the vast majority and society, not the greed of a few as presently obtained, will form the basis of economy and governance.

Right now, we call on workers and trade union activists to agitate and mount organized pressure on the NLC and TUC leaders to immediately declare a 48-hour general strike and nationwide mass protest, as a first step, to demand the reversal of petrol price hike and other anti-poor policies of Tinubu government. If the current labour leaders cannot lead the fight to defend the interest and economic wellbeing of ordinary workers, they should be asked to vacate their positions and be replaced by those who can. At the same time, as has happened before like in 2012, initiatives can be taken to build a movement such as #EndBadGovernance movement, from below aiming to gather a wider echo and active support when the official labour leaders choose to do nothing. Such steps are urgently necessary given the severe crisis the country is in and the growing hunger throughout the land.

Amnesty International Report on #EndBadGovernance protest in August

* YRC calls for the suspension of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to allow for an impartial and independent probe into the reckless assault by the police on the rights to freedom of assembly especially the killing of 24 Protestors

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) commends Amnesty International for its detailed and impartial report titled “Bloody August: Nigerian Government’s Violent Crackdown on #EndBadGovernance protests“. This document exposes the extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the security operatives during the #EndBadGovernance protests, effectively countering the authorities’ denials of any wrongdoing. The report, which includes field research covering incidents in Kano, Jigawa, Kastina, Niger and Maiduguri, reaffirms our stance that lives were indeed lost during the protests and that these deaths were directly caused by the violent actions of security operatives.

We hereby call for the suspension of the Inspector of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to allow for an impartial, independent and public probe into the conducts of the police and other security forces during the #Endbadgovernance protest in August. We hereby reject the in-house probe ordered by the IGP as an attempt to cover up the issue. As a party indicted by the Amnesty International report, the police cannot be trusted to carry out an impartial probe. To this extent, we call for the setting up of an independent probe panel democratically-constituted by the elected representatives of civil society, professional groups like the media, NBA etc, trade unions and youth associations to investigate the various allegations against the police and other security agencies which includes usage of excessive force, firing of live bullets, killing of peaceful protesters, torture of detainees as well as other heinous crimes as contained in the report of Amnesty International as well as several accounts of protesters and civil society groups.

We are well aware that during the August protests, state-sponsored thugs attacked innocent protesters, such as those in Ojota, Lagos, and other parts of the country, while the police turned a blind eye. They made no attempt to arrest these thugs; instead, they went after peaceful protesters. This shows the disparity in treatment between law-abiding citizens and state-sponsored thugs.

Another clear indication of the government’s partiality and disregard for fundamental human rights —Such as free assembly, free speech, and free press– is its consistent cover-up of thugs and hooligans who violently disrupted peaceful proceedings during the #Endbadgovernance protests nationwide. Journalists and peaceful protesters were also harassed. For example, in Lagos, during the first day of the EndBadGovernance protest, a protester was beaten on the head with a police baton. Similarly, a journalist, Jide Oyekunle, was harassed by the police operatives while covering the protest at eagle square in Abuja while another journalist, a reporter from the Premium Times, was assaulted by police officers in Abuja, alongside other protesters who were injured and arrested. Sadly, this unlawful action of the police was not restricted to Lagos and Abuja as we saw a familiar pattern in other parts of the country where the protest took place.

We find it particularly troubling that the Inspector General of Police continues to carry on as if nothing is amiss despite that men under his command arrested children and tortured, starved and kept them in inhumane conditions, actions that are unacceptable under international law. This cruel treatment of minor is a clear violation of the Child Rights Act, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as several other international instruments to which Nigeria is signatory. As they say, impunity breeds contempt. We have no doubt that it is the failure of President Tinubu to sanction the IGP following the release of the minors that gave the Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, the temerity to make the very shocking and highly disparaging statement last week wherein he suggested that the minors should have remained in detention contrary to the democratic norms.

We hereby join Amnesty International and all change seeking Nigerians in calling for immediate action to address these injustices. Specifically, we demand the following:

The prosecution of all police officers and officers of all other security agencies including the DSS and the army responsible for the killings of innocent Nigerians during the protests.
The immediate suspension of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to allow for an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings that occurred during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The constitution of an impartial and independent panel democratically-constituted by elected representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs), the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), trade unions and other pro-democracy organisations and youth groups to ensure transparency and accountability.
The dismissal of all charges against all peaceful protesters and the immediate release of all those detained nationwide. We also demand a halt to the continued assaults on democratic rights.
Compensation for all victims of the violence and their families to help alleviate the impact of the tragic losses.
The meeting of all demands of the #Endbadgovernance protest in August.

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary, Youth Rights Campaign

Email: yrccampaigns@gmail.com

International Solidarity Protests Fighting the Nigeria cost-of-living crisis

20/03/2024

Protests in Nigeria against cost of living. Photo: DSM

Since Nigerian president Bola Tinubu came to power last May, he has launched relentless attacks on the masses in Nigeria through neoliberal capitalist ‘shock therapy’ policies, encouraged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and international capitalists.

This started with the immediate removal of fuel subsidies, sharply increasing the cost of transport and energy generation. He then floated the Nigerian currency, more than doubling the price of imports as the naira lost 70% of its value. The resultant inflation has escalated the crisis of underfunding in government services; for example in healthcare antibiotics prices increased by 1,100%.

Inflation has worsened hunger; the ministry of agriculture predicts that 31.5 million Nigerians will face acute hunger this year and many are now turning to eating reject rice grains previously used for fish feed. Domestic food growth has also been hindered by kidnapping and attacks by terrorists and violent gangs. Insecurity has only worsened since the inflation with more desperate acts like the recent looting of a warehouse and a stampede over rice killing seven people. With 46 academics in the capital dying due to hardship, it’s clear even traditionally secure professions aren’t immune to the suffering.

To fight back, there have been spontaneous protests, but organised workers should lead the movement. The Nigerian Labour Congress called two days of protests but cancelled the second day, despite getting no concessions from the government. The Democratic Socialist Movement of Nigeria (DSM) called for national strike action from the unions. If organised, this could force a reversal of policy, as was seen in the 2011 general strike in Nigeria.

But regardless of the trade union leadership’s inaction, the DSM, as part of the Joint Action Force, has vowed to continue action, despite the constant threat of violent repression by the Nigerian state.

And so solidarity action must also be taken by the Nigerian diaspora. Here Nigeria Solidarity, quickly organised a demonstration outside the Nigerian High Commission in London on 9 March, as a step towards building a solidarity movement of Nigerians and other workers.

The campaign echoes the calls of the DSM for an immediate end to Tinubu’s anti-poor policies. It calls for the return of the fuel subsidy to lower prices back to pre-29 May levels, for an increase in the national minimum wage to match the rate of inflation, and for a reversal of all anti-poor neoliberal policies. Nigeria has huge resources, yet they are used for the greed of a few. Join us as we campaign for them to be used for the benefit of the majority.

We are also campaigning on the issues affecting Nigerians here in Britain. The rapid devaluation of the naira left many students threatened with unenrolment as they were unable to pay their university fees which basically doubled overnight. Over the coming weeks we will be organising protests and meetings on campuses demanding that universities write off the increased burden of uni fees and accommodation costs caused by the devaluation of the naira.

Nigeria Solidarity Zoom meeting: Speakers include Peloala Adewale Democratic Socialist Movement Nigeria

7pm 25 March 2024
Meeting ID: 815 4306 7850 Passcode: 521693. All welcome