Describing as a direct attack on constitutional democracy, the most recent clampdown by the police and the Department of State Services on protesters who gathered to commemorate the fourth year anniversary of the massacre of several peaceful demonstrators by soldiers at the Lekki Toll gate in Lagos and the invasion of the residence of a journalist working for the Abuja based OrderPaper during which a media staff, Edna Ulaeto was manhandled and allegedly abducted by the Department of State Services, the president of Nigeria has been called upon to stop the drift to authoritarianism.
“The duty of the secret police is not to constantly haunt and attack media workers who are simply carrying out their national tasks as prescribed by section 22 of the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended which recognises the media of mass communication as the vanguards of the nation and as the agents of positive change who are to monitor and report the activities, failures and achievements of those holding public offices.
“The DSS should redirect her resources towards arresting the armed enemies of Nigeria, terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and those seeking to destroy Nigeria. DSS, please leave the media alone to do their duty of reporting to the good people of Nigeria about the government which the people of Nigeria have donated their legitimacy for the government to exercise authority. These incessant attacks on the media by the DSS and other security agencies should and must stop before the constitutional democracy is destroyed by the emerging dictatorship.”
HURIWA recalled that in a statement, dated October 18, the management of OrderPaper said that “a group of armed men, identifying themselves as officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), forcefully stormed the home of an OrderPaper staff member, Edna Ulaeto, and abducted her without any explanation.
“The young lady, still in her casual nightwear, was violently manhandled and whisked away to an unknown destination, leaving her family and neighbors in shock and fear. Shockingly, it has come to light that her phone number was illegally tracked, a tactic typically reserved for dangerous criminals, not innocent media staff.”
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According to the statement, “OrderPaper suspects this cruel and unjust act is connected to a recent news article that mistakenly reported on an alleged DSS invasion of the National Assembly, supposedly to block an attempt to impeach the Senate President. Despite immediately issuing a retraction and public apology, masked men broke into her home, tore through her personal belongings, and caused immense trauma to her and her family.
“Neighbours who attempted to follow or capture the horrifying event were shoved aside, with some forced to delete photos and videos under the threat of arrest. No official notice or invitation was ever sent to the individual or OrderPaper by the DSS or police, raising serious concerns of foul play. Since the abduction, all efforts to reach her have failed, intensifying fears for her safety.
“This brazen, terrifying act has left the entire staff of OrderPaper living in fear, uncertain of what may happen next. We urgently call on the public, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and the international community to demand her immediate release and to ensure her safety. Join us in condemning this unlawful attack on press freedom and basic human rights before it is too late.”
HURIWA which condemned the invasion as despicable, reprehensible and abhorrent, noted in the statement on Sunday that although the abducted journalist with OrderPaper was later released after the intervention of the International Press Institute, Nigerian office, the invasion of her home and the brazen violations of her human dignity as displayed by the DSS is a despicable pattern of persistent attacks on media freedoms by the current administration. “We ask the government to apologise to this mistreated journalist and pay adequate financial compensation of N100 million for the violations of her human rights or the organisation: OrderPaper should sue the DSS to enforce the fundamental rights of their staff and to seek for adequate redress for those callous, primitive and inhuman violations of the constitutional human rights of the media worker.
HURIWA warned that if the attacks on journalists should continue under the current government, then it will be required that all pro-democracy advocates and groups both within and outside of the shores of Nigeria, should unite to wage an unrelenting international campaign to call on the international community to impose sanctions on the president Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. HURIWA is calling on all credible independent NGOS and civil Rights advocacy Groups to unite and plan massive global campaigns against the upsurge in gross violations of the Rights of citizens by government through the armed security forces under the direct command and control of the President of Nigeria.
HURIWA which also criticised the attacks on protesters in Lagos by the armed security forces drawn from the Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police Force, stated that the actions of the police are intolerable and brutal just as the Rights group said the peaceful protesters did not commit any crime by assembling peacefully to commemorate an event that happened four years back.
“We call on the police to release all the protesters detained by them as a result of the peaceful assembly that was held today. The people of Nigeria have the constitutional freedom of peaceful assembly and the police has no mandate known to law, to employ brute and primitive force to chase away these peaceful Nigerians who are simply exercising their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms”.
“We also condemn the action of some DSS operatives to try to ‘use’ public office and resources to judicially harass one of Nigeria’s independent voices SERAP by instituting a suit over the claim SERAP made concerning the occupation of her Abuja office recently by some operatives of the DSS.”We hope that these two DSS operatives are using their personal financial resources to drag SERAP to court. On no account should the institution of the DSS use the public funds meant for them to protect the country to divert it into carrying out meaningless judicial vendetta and campaign of egotistical adventure of suing SERAP only for raising alarm about the presence of the DSS in its office without prior invitation.”
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