MOTiON Condemns Violent Attack On Protesters In Abuja,…Calls On Government, Judiciary, Security Agencies To Stop Weaponising Citizen Dissent

By Bukar BOLORI

The Movement for the Transformation of Nigeria (MOTiON) has expressed outrage at what it termed brutal suppression of peaceful free Nnamdi Kanu protesters in Abuja.

The group in a statement on Tuesday, alleged that citizens exercising their constitutional right to dissent were shot at, tear-gassed, chased and arrested, in a chilling display of state hostility toward free expression.

In a statement jointly signed by its Convener, Hauwa Mustapha, and Co-Convener, Chris Isiguzo; the group said eyewitnesses and media reports confirm that security agents deployed heavy-handed tactics to crush a lawful assembly instead of protecting the rights of Nigerians.

The group said security agencies must be reminded that when citizens take to the streets to demand justice, reform, accountability or welfare, their duty is to safeguard and not silence them, stressing that only a few weeks ago, protesters demanding improved welfare for police and retired officers were not treated as adversaries because their demands favoured the same security institutions.

” Yet this week, citizens voicing dissent against perceived injustice were met with force and contempt. This double standard exposes a dangerous politicisation of the right to protest.MOTiON asserted that the courts and government must stop framing citizen protests as illegitimate attempts to destabilise the state, insisting that such narratives embolden repression, obstruct reform dialogue, and erode democratic confidence. “

It stated that judiciary must refuse to rubber-stamp blanket bans on assembly, and the executive must refrain from treating civic space as a political battleground.

The group said: “We further call on lawmakers to rise above partisan silence and defend the sanctity of citizens’ constitutional freedoms. They must use its oversight powers to ensure that: A public guarantee is issued that peaceful assemblies will never again be treated as criminal acts; All court injunctions restricting protests are reviewed to prevent their misuse as tools of intimidation under the guise of “security”; and Security agencies adopt and enforce a human-rights-compliant protest management protocol, and the Nigeria Police must commit to protecting citizens during protests, and ensure Nigerians are never treated as enemies simply for raising their voices.”

MOTiON said it stands in unwavering solidarity with all Nigerians exercising their right to peaceful protest, whether they are workers, students, retirees, or ordinary citizens.

“We will not stay silent while legitimate dissent is criminalised and voices for justice are violently silenced.”

MOTiON is a collective force of Nigerians from mass democratic organisations, workers’ organisations, pro-democracy movements, movements for social justice, women groups, citizens groups, NGOs, academia, students and youth groups, and climate action groups.

According to it, it is a movement of movements channeling shared anger, frustration and aspirations of Nigerians into purposeful action.

Through concerted, strategic effort, engaging in citizens’ actions to address and overcome the root causes of Nigeria’s current state: elite capture, ineffective leadership, institutional corruption, insecurity, and the pervasive culture of impunity.