Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has urged the international community to impose swift and decisive sanctions on President Tinubu’s government in response to the escalating human rights violations and arbitrary arrests perpetrated by the Department of State Services (DSS).
This call for action comes amidst growing concerns about the deteriorating state of civil liberties and democratic values in Nigeria.
The lawyer stated that the government has effectively equated peaceful demonstrations with treason, a serious and unjustified escalation of repressive measures aimed at silencing dissent and undermining democratic rights in Nigeria.
His statement reads in part, “The arrest of Comrade Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on his way to London, where he’s billed to attend a trade union meeting by the State Security Service (SSS) is a continuation of the sinister efforts aimed at enthroning a climate of fear in the country.
“It is obvious that this regime is paranoid and is resorting to tyranny to cover its palpable and monumental failures. The arrest of Ajaero is condemnable and he should be released forthwith.
“It is shameful that the pretentious and deceitful progressives are now destroying whatever is left of Nigeria’s democracy. It is now clear that this regime is determined to use arbitrary force to silence conscientious voices.
“President Tinubu’s regime has made nonsense of the offence of treason. Nigerians are being arrested and prosecuted on trumped-up treason charges for protesting.
“It is important for the international community to impose severe sanctions on agents of democratic destabilisation in Nigeria.
“Rather than address the government’s failures, and the ravaging hunger in the country, this incompetent regime has resorted to pettiness and oppression.”
In a recent incident highlighting the erosion of democratic norms, the Department of State Services arrested the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress as he was traveling to London to attend a Trade Union Congress meeting.
The Tinubu administration has drawn widespread condemnation for its systematic suppression of dissent, as evidenced by a series of repressive actions targeting critical voices across Nigeria.
Various stakeholders, including civil society groups, activists, and opposition figures, have voiced their opposition to the government’s escalating clampdown on democratic freedoms and fundamental human rights.
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