The Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights (CHSR) has urged the Federal Government and the Kwara State Government, to critically address the violation of right to peaceful assembly of some women in Ilorin.
In a statement signed by the group’s President Comrade Alex Omotehinse, the barbaric assault of certain women in Ilorin, Kwara State who embarked on a peaceful protest to demand for the release of their kidnapped love ones was strongly condemned.
The group faulted the approach of certain characters from the Kwara State Government House, who allegedly met the protesting women with brute force, instead of been alive to their constitutional responsibility of securing lives and properties of hapless citizens of the state.
The statement reads, “We condemn in the strongest and most unequivocal terms, the brutal attack, assault, intimidation, harassment and merciless beating of peaceful women protesters who converged at the Kwara State Government House Ilorin, over the weekend.
“These women were neither criminals nor agitators, they were grieving mothers, wives and daughters whose only “offence” was to have cried out for help over the continue kidnapping and captivity of their loved ones in Oke-Ode community, a town within the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
“What transpired in Ilorin is a dark stain on our collective conscience as a Nation, when a peaceful protest, anchored on pains and fear was met with raw violence, whose the Video footages now circulating widely on social media show assailants armed with canes flogging, chasing and brutalizing defenseless women as they screamed for help, while security personnel (Policemen) looked on, turned blind eyes and shamefully failed to intervene.
“It therefore means that this act of cowardice by the police officers and other security men present is a bad signal of complicity and is condemnable.”
The group however, maintained that the cause of the women’s protest is genuine owing to the worsening insecurity in Oke-Ode, following the abduction of their husbands and children who have remained in the captivity of kidnappers for an extended period.
“Based on eyewitness accounts available to our organization, a group of men armed with canes reportedly emerged from the Kwara State Government House and descended on the protesters, striking them repeatedly and forcing them to flee in fear.
“No sane human being of good conscience should participate in such demonic, barbaric and occult acts, irrespective of any financial inducement or directive from whosoever may have contracted them to attack harmless and peaceful women protesters, is an assault not only on their bodies, but on humanity itself.
“Even more heartbreaking is the footage of a woman tearfully pleading with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerians across all tribes and religions to come to the aid of Oke-Ode community: “Please help us, we are under the mercy of the kidnappers in Oke-Ode” this cry captures the depth of despair and abandonment felt by citizens who should ordinarily be protected by the state.
“Nigeria must never become a place where victims of insecurity are silenced with whips and canes, while kidnappers roam freely.
“The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by law and morality, crushing it with violence only deepens injustice and widens the gulf between government and the governed.”
The group also demands the immediate investigation and prosecution of all individuals involved in the assault, including those who ordered, facilitated or watched the attack without intervening, upbraiding of security agencies who aided and abetted the violation of the protesters rights,urgent and coordinated rescue efforts to secure the immediate release of all abducted persons from Oke-Ode community, with clear communication to affected families about the steps being taken, and adequate protection and reassurance for the people of Oke-Ode and other vulnerable communities facing similar threats across the country.
