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NANS Gives DSS Ultimatum To Free #RevolutionNow Protesters
By Emmanuel Awosika
The South-West arm of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given the Department of State Services till Monday to release the #RevolutionNow protesters from detention.
In a statement, the student body criticized the decision of the DSS to take the #RevolutionNow protesters into custody, stating that all individuals had the right to peaceful protest.
The student body threatened to organize demonstrations if the protesters were not released before ultimatum expired.
The statement, signed by the NANS Zone D Coordinator, Kowe Amos; Public Relations Officer, Kazeem Israel; and Secretary-General, Giwa Temitope, reads in part:
“We find it disturbing that despite the fact that several international protocols guarantee human rights to protest, successive governments in Nigeria have not done enough in the aspect of respect for these rights.
“In Nigeria, dissent is criminalised. The ruling class aims to assume the position of the all-mighty; they do not want to be questioned.”
The association also decried the manner in which the affairs of the nation are being handled, describing it as heart-wrenching.
It said, “The association having studied the demands of the protesters make bold to assert that they are legitimate, many of which we have also in our capacity as an association raised in a series of interventions since we came on board last year.
“Nigerians, especially in the North, are being killed like games by rising insurgency. Rate of poverty, hopelessness and unemployment is alarming. Education and health have been completely abandoned.
“Corruption has taken over the entire administration, with rising foreign debt profile capable of compromising the nation’s sovereignty. Respect for democratic ideals of freedom, human dignity, rights and rule of law has been thrown to the winds. The country has been subjected to the whims of jackboot absolutism.
“These are legitimate issues raised by the #RevolutionNow protesters. But, the posture of the Nigerian government towards issues has shown that they would rather empower/embrace sycophancy than agree with those with dissent because they are not ready to be held accountable which is why there is always a clampdown on protests.
“It is to this end that we demand that the government unconditionally frees the detained protesters.”
