By Emmanuel Udom
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has literally taken the federal government of Nigeria to the cleaners, over what it describes as the incessant arraignment of human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, and publisher of Saharareporters.
Debo Adeniran, national president of CDHR, noted in his press statement that “This repeated judicial harassment is not only infantile and unnecessary, but also a clear distraction from the serious task of governance. ‘ According to him, ‘ this practice not only undermines the spirit of democracy, but also represents a violation of the constitutional rights guaranteed to every Nigerian citizen.”
He insisted that ‘ the Nigerian Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, guarantees freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and these rights are the bedrock of democracy and cannot be abridged simply because an individual expresses dissenting opinions against government policies.”
Debo further explained that it is important to state that the Federal Government should not expect every Nigerian to be in agreement with the strategies and tactics employed in running the affairs of the nation. However, the truth is that a significant number of citizens are dissatisfied with the government’s economic policies. Even among those who initially supported the policies, there is now widespread discontent over their poor implementation, which has unleashed untold hardship on the populace. Nigerians are hungry, angry, and frustrated.
His words: “In a democracy, those who are angry have the right to criticise the government in any manner they deem fit. It is therefore counterproductive for the government to waste time and resources trying to silence dissenting voices through frivolous litigation. What the government owes the people is clarity of purpose: an honest explanation of its plans and policies. He said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu once declared that he was ready to receive all the bashing for his administration’s shortcomings, and as a leader and supposed father of the nation, he should live up to that promise by accommodating criticism instead of persecuting critics.
“If the government were truly focused on delivering good governance, the people themselves would naturally defend its integrity and discredit voices like Sowore’s. But the reality today is that the masses are disillusioned, angry, and supportive of his defiance because they are daily confronted with poverty, hunger, and despair.”
CDHR leader, therefore, calls on the FG to immediately desist from its unnecessary obsession with Sowore and redirect its energy to addressing the economic and social crises bedevilling the nation.
