THE MURDER by the police of several protesters in recent days has raised the issue of the role of the police in our society. We hope that the police will be there to protect us when we suffer from acts of criminality. But we also know, even in normal times, that the police regularly arrest innocent people, torture them and in some cases even kill them.
This behaviour by the police has only become clearer in recent days. But we all know that the police have to be settled to solve any crime we suffer. We all know that the police regularly arrest innocent people and then demand bail. Is this not just routine kidnapping?
The fundamental role of the police should be to protect the common people. Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, they only protect the rich and the powerful to the detriment of the poor majority. In normal times, around a third of the police in Nigeria are assigned to directly protect VIP’s. Some of this protection was recently removed to make more police available to try and control the mass protests.
As the protests started, even on the first day, the police immediately used lethal force. For example, perhaps half a dozen protesters were murdered by the police at Suleja, just for blocking the road to Kaduna.
Amnesty International estimated that 13 people were killed last Thursday in Suleja, Kaduna, Kano and Maiduguri. The violence escalated so much that by Sunday evening, the police were shooting live ammunition into crowds in Kaduna and driving their anti-riot vehicles at full speed, resulting in many deaths.
In Abuja, on the first day of protest, the police used tear gas against people who were trying to reach Eagle Square. On the second day, tear gas was used extensively to disperse any small groups of protesters at Berger Roundabout. On the third day, the DSS used live ammunition to shoot wildly at protesters and journalists by the Moshood Abiola (National) Stadium.
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Icondemn this killing of innocent protesters by the police. The police and the senior officers should be held to account, but we know they are supported by the political leadership. We know that they are regularly issued with live bullets rather than rubber bullets. We should know that the true role of the police is to terrorise the common people and to try and stop them opposing the corrupt elite.
We should accept that the leader of the police in Kaduna is less likely to be disciplined for the murders that he supervised, than the leader of the police in Edo State who was seen dancing with the protesters. The Edo police commissioner deserves praise for enabling the protesters to exercise their constitutional right to protest.
This behaviour by the police has only become clearer in recent days. But we all know that the police have to be settled to solve any crime we suffer. We all know that the police regularly arrest innocent people and then demand bail. Is this not just routine kidnapping?
The actions of the Tinubu Government since taking power have also resulted in the deaths of countless people. The raising of the price of petrol and the devaluation of the naira resulted in a huge hike in the price of all goods in the market. This pushed many people from poverty to hunger. Hungry people are more likely to die from common diseases, especially the young and the elderly. How many people are now dying quietly at home because they cannot afford to buy the necessary medicines or pay for health care?
The police have never been the friends of working people. The origins of the Nigerian Police Force lie in the British Colonial period when the police were used to suppress uprisings for freedom against colonial rule. Despite over 60 years of political independence, the role of the Police Force has hardly changed.
Despite the police doing the bidding of the rich and powerful, they are also treated just as badly as the unarmed citizens they continuously harass and extort bribes from. Their barracks are a hell-hole, uniforms torn and dirty, with irregular pay. This year, the police have not received the 35,000 naira monthly allowance promised to federal workers by the government.
The protests in recent days have clearly shown the role of the police as the armed wing of the state. The police and the whole state apparatus are designed to protect the rich from the poor majority. That is why socialists say that we cannot just take over this state – we will have to completely dismantle it and create a more democratic peoples’ state as the basis for socialism.
Release All Those Detained in Connection with the End Hunger Protests
The police claim to have arrested a thousand or more people since the protests started on Thursday, 1st August. I maintain that acts of peaceful protest are constitutionally and universally recognised as fundamental human rights. As a result, it is a statutory duty for the police to protect every person in the course of exercising their rights to protest. Rather than protecting peaceful protesters in many cases, peaceful protesters have been viciously attacked and even killed while many others are still being detained.
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I call for the immediate and unconditional release of everyone detained during the #End Hunger protests. The Constitution does not tolerate detention beyond 24 hours without a detainee being taken to court. We reject any attempts by the government to criminalise the right to peaceful protest.
We demand that all those recently detained by the police and the DSS are immediately released. We also demand that all the #EndSARS protesters still illegally held in prison are released. We call for senior police officers in all states where protesters were killed to be prosecuted.
We have watched with utter dismay and shock, video clips of security agents entering homes of alleged protesters and shooting them in cold blood. The security agents have turned themselves into both prosecutors and judges with this jungle justice.
The actions of the Tinubu Government since taking power have also resulted in the deaths of countless people. The raising of the price of petrol and the devaluation of the naira resulted in a huge hike in the price of all goods in the market. This pushed many people from poverty to hunger. Hungry people are more likely to die from common diseases, especially the young and the elderly. How many people are now dying quietly at home because they cannot afford to buy the necessary medicines or pay for health care?
These deaths are the direct result of Tinubu’s official policies. This is why we are protesting and demanding #EndHunger now! We should recognise that the real criminals are those looting the public vaults at national and state levels. The former Accountant General was released on bail after he stole N109 billion. He is still freely walking the streets waiting for his trail.
On Saturday, 3rd August, Ayoola Babalola, a journalist, and five others were arrested for protesting at the National Stadium in Abuja. They were taken to Wuye police station. They were finally released the next day.
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In addition, the DSS are now detaining socialists and organisers of the protests. In Abuja, several socialists, including Michael Lenin, Babatunde Oluajo (Sankara) and Mosiu Sodiq were detained by the DSS on Saturday night, 3rd August. They are also attempting to locate other organisers of the protests in Abuja. In Kano the tailor who made the Russian flags was even arrested, along with many youths who were carrying the flags!
In March 2024, Amnesty International again called on the Nigerian authorities to release 12 #EndSARS protesters who are still being held without going to trial: “Daniel Joy-Igbo, Sodiq Adigun, Shehu Anas, and Akiniran Oyetakin – arrested in Lagos in 2020, and still being arbitrarily held in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre for over three years. Peaceful #EndSARS protesters – Segun Adeniyi, Onuorah Odih, Jeremiah Lucky, Gideon Ikwujomah, Irinyemi Olorunwanbe, Quadri Azeez, Olamide Lekan and Sadiq Riliwan – are still also detained without trial in Ikoyi Medium Security Correctional Centre in Lagos since 2020.”
We demand that all those recently detained by the police and the DSS are immediately released. We also demand that all the #EndSARS protesters still illegally held in prison are released. We call for senior police officers in all states where protesters were killed to be prosecuted.
The protests were called to make these basic demands, which include:
- Immediate implementation of the new minimum wage
- Payment of all salary and pension arrears in states and payment of proper palliatives
- Reversal of school and tuition fee hikes and the introduction of a maximum affordable fee level
- Reversal of the hikes in petrol and electricity prices
- Removal of the collection of fees, dues and tolls from market women
- Release of all #EndSARS detainees and #EndHunger protesters.
Comrade Batubo, a member of Socialist Labour, writes from Abuja. He can be contacted on WhatsApp – 0916 693 3998
