The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has faulted former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, for warning security agencies against using lethal force against protesters.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night August 6, Atiku warned that those who authorise the use of lethal force against peaceful civilian protesters will be held responsible for committing crimes against humanity even after retirement.
Reacting to Atiku’s comment, Onanuga said as a statesman, Atiku’s warning ought to be to the looting mob in Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and Jigawa states, who he said “hijacked what was advertised by organisers as a peaceful protest.”
Onanuga argued that the security forces had remained professional, and even-handed, and observed every restraint in the face of extreme provocation by the rioters.
“We are surprised that Alhaji Atiku is still relying on Section 40 of our constitution (as amended) to justify a protest that is now clearly a riot, a rampage in some parts of the country.
“Section 45 of the constitution says the right of assembly and the right of freedom of expression are not absolute.
“They can be abridged and fettered in the interest of public peace, public safety, law, and order,” said the Presidential aide.
Onanuga said the Service Chiefs reiterated the rights of Nigerians to protest and gather freely.
“They, however, reinforced their constitutional duty, today, when they said they cannot sit by idly and watch hoodlums destroy the country and its democracy.
The Service Chiefs and the officers and men of our security outfits should be commended for their patriotic duty to our country.
As a supporter and enabler of the destructive ‘protests,’ Alhaji Atiku certainly wants the sinister protest to continue i spite of the red signals from the streets.
“We encourage Alhaji Atiku to borrow a leaf from opposition figures in United Kingdom, who have rallied behind the government to condemn the ongoing riots in UK. They called for the arrest and prosecution of those behind the wanton destruction of public and private assets. Such nationalistic temperament as displayed by opposition figures like Rishi Sunak, the immediate-past Prime Minister of UK is expected of Alhaji Atiku,” said Onanuga