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Our Youth and the Unfolding National Crisis: Need for Urgent Intervention

STATEMENT BY CONCERNED NIGERIANS

We are responsible and patriotic Nigerians who have watched with serious
concern the unfolding crisis threatening to engulf our nation. This has followed the
recent protests by Nigerian youth across the country, against widespread police
brutality, endemic corruption, and bad governance. We are non-partisan actors
who believe in the union of our people through the maintenance of democratic
order founded on the rule of law. We believe in the freedom of all Nigerians to
exercise the rights guaranteed in our constitution, including freedom of speech, the
right to participate in peaceful protest and in processions without harassment or
intimidation from any person or authority.

The developments of the last weeks culminated in a deadly attack on peaceful


protestors, which from available evidence appears to be by agents of our
government on 20th October 2020 present one of the most serious crisis in our
nations history. At the root of these protests by our youth is bad governance and
lack of accountability. Currently, 65% of Nigerians are young persons under 35
years of age. Majority do not feel that Nigeria works for them or supports their
interests or aspirations. They have been victims of police brutality and extortion
all their lives and collectively decided the situation was no longer acceptable. It
was on that basis that they began the EndSARS protests to end police brutality
and ultimately to defend their basic rights, including the fundamental right to life.
From all accounts, their protests were peaceful, and disciplined. They were focused
on defending the rule of law and good governance, on many occasions
symbolically raising the national flag or singing the national anthem.

The response of the Government to these protests has been largely slow,
unconvincing, and half-hearted. By formally accepting the youth’s demand to end

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SARS but immediately announcing it would be replaced with SWAT, that did not
demonstrate good faith. This has happened several times previously when our
youth had protested police brutality and extortion. With no credible response and
with no basis for trust in the willingness of their government to address their real
grievances, they continued their protests.

There are widespread allegations and some available evidence would appear to
support this, that agents of government or other affiliated political actors sought
to break the legitimate protests by the youth through sponsoring or promoting
thugs to attack the protestors and damage properties which were then attributed
to the youth protestors. Some evidence also suggests that there are attempts to
delegitimise the protests by seeking to divide and rule the youth through ethnic
and religious manipulation. This makes the situation very dangerous for the country.
This divisive and cynical approach, if established, portends great danger to the
nation and is unacceptable.

A cynical and brutal response, to the protests by the government or its agencies
will only succeed in taking the agency of these protests from the hands of
concerned, peaceful, orderly protesters for the rule of law and delivering our
streets to the hoodlums and arsonists as is currently unfolding.

With over one hundred million people living in extreme poverty, Nigeria cannot
afford to tread the path of exacerbating ethnic and religious divides which can
only lead to anarchy. Any response from the government agencies or indeed any
group, that suggests this, must be condemned strongly.

On Tuesday 20th October 2020, the nation was rudely shocked by what appears
to be a premeditated violent crackdown on the protestors thereby significantly
escalating the volatile situation. Earlier on that day, the Lagos State Government
had declared a 24-hour curfew which would take effect from 4pm. According to

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reports, as the deadline was not practical, the state government extended the time
for compliance to 9pm. However, before the reviewed curfew time, armed men
in the uniform of the Nigerian military were deployed to the protest site at Lekki
toll gate in Lagos. Available evidence suggests that they did not order the crowd
to disperse and they did not engage in non-lethal crowd dispersal action, but
rather opened live ammunitions on the defenseless assembled youth, some of whom
were reportedly killed or wounded. This attack on unarmed protesters holding
the nation’s flag and singing the national anthem will go down in infamy and will
be engraved in the minds of Nigerians as one of the worst abuses of its own
citizenship.

No Nation can survive a war between its security agencies and its youth, and it is
to avert this prospect that we make this intervention and recommend the following
urgent action.

Having carefully observed and followed these unfolding events, and to halt our
descent into further break down of law and order, we call for urgent steps to be
taken by all concerned.

1. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate urgent


steps to address the widening trust deficit between the Government and
the President on the one hand, and the Nigerian youth and its people
on the other. To move forward, the President must take decisive action
to close the trust deficit by:

a. Identifying and arresting immediately the persons that gave


instruction for soldiers to shoot protesting youth at the Lekki
Toll Gate on 20th October 2020

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b. Institute an urgent independent inquiry on: (i) the events at
Lekki toll gate leading to the use of live ammunitions on the
protestors and (ii) the apparent use of sponsored thugs or
hoodlums by security operatives to infiltrate and break the
peaceful protests. All those identified to be responsible for
this must be held to account and prosecuted.

c. Take immediate remedial action as spelt out in the youth


Charter of Demands (which they term 5For5 Demands)
including the immediate release of all arrested protestors,
justice and compensation for the families of victims, and an
independent body to oversee the prosecution of guilty
officers.

d. Address the Nation with concrete plan of implementation of


the modalities and timelines for police reform.

e. Respond positively to the consensus opinion that the heads


of the security agencies have performed poorly and should
be relieved of office.

f. Announce urgent steps to address perennial insecurity and


killings in the country particularly in the North-East and
North-West.

g. Finally, develop a clear workplan for the implementation of


the governance reform programmes for which well meaning
Nigerians have been demanding.

2. We commend our youth who have been courageous and patriotic


in their demands for the protection of their rights and for a better

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Nigeria. We urge that all Nigerians support these demands which
have been without any ethnic or religious coloration.

3. We urge the protestors to remain law abiding and patriotic and


not to engage in any intimidation or harassment of ordinary
citizens or engage in any form of violence. We appeal to parties
and stakeholders to work for speedy resolution of the crisis.

4. We strongly condemn the wanton destruction of properties, killings


and maiming of innocent citizens and ethnicization by rioters and
hoodlums trying to ignite a religious or ethnic conflict and call on
ALL Nigerians to remain calm and avoid retaliation or taking the
law into their hands.

ISSUED THIS 22ND DAY OF OCTOBER, 2020

Signed By the Underlisted:

1. Dr. Olisa Agbakoba OON, SAN 2. Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim

3. Bishop Matthew Hassan Kuka 4. Prof. Attahiru Muhammadu Jega OFR

5. Funke Adekoya, SAN 6. Prof. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo

7. Mr. Femi Falana SAN 8. Rev Prof. Koyinsola Ajayi SAN

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9. Prof. Auwalu H. Yadudu 10. Mal. Yusuf Ali SAN

11. Dr. Chris Kwaja 12. Mr. Chino Edmund Obiagwu SAN

13. Father George Ehusani 14. Mr. John Odah

15. Prof. Mohammed Tabiu, SAN 16. Mal. Kabiru Yusuf

17. Cmrd. Salisu Nuhu Mohammed 18. Mr. Ledum Mitee

19. Ms Ngozi Iwere 20. Ene Obi

21. Ms Amina Salisu 22. Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed

23. Dayo Olayide 24. Danlami Nmodu

25. Mallam Hamza Ibrahim 26. Prof. Ukachukwu A. Awuzie

27. Dr, Peter Ozo-Eson 28. Dr. Dipo Fashina

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29. Dr. Udo Jude 30. Ms Idayat Hassan

31. Abubakar Sokoto Mohammed 32. Prpf. G.G. Darah

33. Prof. Adele Jinadu 34. Prof. Rufai Alkali

35. Hon. Rima Shawulu 36. Dr. Innocent Chukwuma

37. Dr. Kole Shettima 38. Adeyemi Candide-Johnson SAN

39. Mal. Y.Z. Yau 40. Prof. Pat Utomi

41. A. B. Mahmoud, OON, SAN

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