Many Nigerians approve of the #EndSARS protests across the country. But the persistent traffic chaos is disrupting life and living. Are the protesters’ conduct lawful? Do aggrieved non-protesters have a remedy in law? ROBERT EGBE examines the issues.
Maduka Onwukeme got a clearer picture of the problem of police brutality when he began visiting detainees at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) office in Ikeja, Lagos, in the early days of his law practice.
Relieving his experiences with the police unit in a Facebook post on October 11, Onwukeme said: “… Going to SARS office messes with your head. The beatings you witness detainees go through is something else. Even in the presence of lawyers and family members.
“I usually tell people to sign whatever statement they ask you to sign so you are not tortured as you can easily knock out the statements in court. The statements are even hardly used for anything except to make detainees pay high bail fees.
“SARS officials will tell you ‘we waste suspects’. No one has time to go to court. SARS is impunity we allowed to fester.…”
On October 13, Onwukeme and hundreds of other lawyers took the streets of Ikeja in protest against police brutality.
Their action was part of a new wave of daily demonstrations in no fewer than 21 cities which began in early October with the hashtag #EndSARS.
Peaceful demonstrations were underway last Wednesday morning in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, when Yohanna Shankuk left home for work. The protesters were just ahead at the popular Berger Junction as Shankuk approached on foot.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment Festus Keyamo announced what happened next on his Twitter handle.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) wrote: “I regret to announce that my driver, Mr Yohanna Shankuk, died yesterday in Abuja as a result of the protests. A vehicle that saw advancing protesters at Berger Roundabout, made a U-turn, took the one-way back and ran over him as he was making his way on foot to my private office.”
Not everyone agreed with Keyamo that the protest caused Shankuk’s death though. Some of his followers on Twitter, including BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) campaigner Nedu Ekeke, reasoned that the driver of the vehicle was to blame.
“Abuja protesters were peaceful. The driver that made a U-turn on sighting protesters had no business panicking, except what he saw was the RENTED hoodlums that were attacking peaceful protesters.”
There were multiple reports that thugs wielding cudgels and cutlasses attempted to disrupt the demonstration by attacking protesters and destroying cars, hence Ekeke’s refernce to “rented hoodlums”.
But, whether Keyamo was correct or not, there have been suggestions elsewhere that the protests, though widely supported, might be having other unintended consequences.
For instance, Lagos State Commissioner for information Mr Gbenga Omotoso referred to some of those consequences on October 16, during a guest appearance on TVC This Morning.
Omotoso agreed with the demonstrators’ right to peaceful protests, adding that even Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat had, uncharacteristically of political leaders, joined in the protests at Lekki and Ikeja.
Nevertheless, the commissioner observed that the protesters’ continued blockage of roads was causing untold harm and discomfort to other residents. He noted that there were reports that critically ill persons on the way to hospital had lost their lives while stuck in prolonged traffic in the metropolis.
Although Omotoso did not identify such persons, scenes of traffic chaos across the city would appear to provide anecdotal evidence of such tragedies.
A 55-year-old driver, Ikechukwu Ilohamauzo, found himself in one such traffic jam at Surulere in Lagos on October 12, while a protest was underway. Media reports stated that Ilohamauzo came out of his vehicle to urinate when he was struck by a stray bullet.
Several reports accused the police of opening gunfire to disperse protesters, but killed Ilohamauzo instead.
Two protesters and one journalist at the scene who spoke to Human Rights Watch said the police arrived and opened fire to disperse the protesters when they were close to a police station around Western Avenue. One of the protesters said as he and others were running, they realised that a man had been hit by a bullet and went back to where he was. The protesters watched and filmed as a medical team tried to give the man emergency care, but he died.
But police in Surulere claimed that Ilohamauzo was killed by a stray bullet from protesters who they said also shot and killed a police officer during an attack on the police station. They arrested three protesters whom they claimed were responsible. Videos have since surfaced online, however, that purport to show that the officer fell to the ground after a burst of fire from his colleagues. The protesters were eventually released.
Besides Ilohamauzo, no fewer than nine others have been killed since last week that major highways have been blocked. The police have been fingered in almost all of the deaths.
Despite the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu dissolving SARS, the youth continue to protest across the country, demanding total and immediate police reform.
Right to protest vs right to not be obstructed
The rights to peaceful assembly and free expression are foundational principles of any democracy and are guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and international human rights law.
The courts have interpreted Section 40 of the Constitution as not only guaranteeing the right of every Nigerian to peaceful assembly, but also extending the provision to the right of citizens to conduct peaceful processions, rallies or demonstrations without seeking and obtaining permission from any individual or agency.
Similarly, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, of which Nigeria is a state party, provide for the full exercise of the rights to assembly and peaceful protests of citizens of state parties.
Thus, Nigerians are certainly entitled to peaceful protests, such as are ongoing nationwide.
But, what happens where such protests infringe others’ rights to earn a living or move about? Can anyone be held accountable? Is there a limitation to the right to protest? Can aggrieved citizens seek relief?
Peaceful protests lawful, but…
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Yusuf Ali advised demonstrators to consider the rights of others while protesting. He appealed to protesters to allow free flow of traffic.
Ali said: “The only limitations I know to the right to protest is that it should not lead to the denial of other peoples’ rights. When you want to enjoy your right to protest, you cannot use that to deny others their right to freedom of movement. Unfortunately, people don’t seem to understand that.
“If you see all the protests in the United States of America, you won’t see them blocking the roads totally; no, they will allow those who want to pass to go through. That should be the culture we should try to emulate, because your right to swing your arm, ends where my nose starts. There is no unlimited right anywhere in the world, otherwise there will be anarchy.
“So, our fellow citizens who are expressing their grievance should do so within the confines of the law and the Constitution; they should not use that to trample on others’ rights.”
Can persons harmed by protests find judicial remedy?
Executive Director, Access to Justice (A2Justice), Joseph Otteh, noted that the right to protest is a fundamental one in every democratic society that cannot be taken away.
“Civilisations have been built on that right…. In every society, protests are nor circumscribed, but regulated by ensuring that they are peaceful, there is no breakdown of law and order and so that those not protesting can exercise their right to movement,” Otteh said.
He noted that in the course of a public protest, some portions of public roads will necessarily be affected and that law enforcement agents, particularly the police, have a role to play in helping protesters keep within the law.
Otteh observed further that the current situation was slightly unusual because the police, whose duty it was to maintain law and order in a protest, were in the eye of the crisis.
He added that for good reason, including safety, “people who have the responsibility for that have run away.”
Otteh reasoned that it might be impracticable for an aggrieved person to bring an action against large number of protesters who don’t have a clear leader, such as, for example, the #EndSARS movement.
“I don’t see that it’s feasible,” he said.
Otteh suggested that the government can find a way to keep the protests safe and lawful by deploying other law enforcement institutions or agencies.
“In Lagos State, you have LASTMA (Lagos State Traffic Management Agency) set up by law. These are the agencies that you expect to also share the responsibility of managing traffic and the roads at this kind of time. If they are not doing it, we need to ask why,” he said.
‘Riots are like acts of God’
Onwukeme also agreed that the right to peaceful protest is constitutional. He further noted that a person who suffers loss or injury due to a protest might find it difficult to get legal remedy. He explained that the current protesters were not easily identifiable or distinguishable for purpose of legal responsibility or liability.
Onwukeme said: “While I agree that no right is absolute, once peaceful, a protest will be deemed to be lawful. Then coming to the other question of whether a person who is affected by a protest and he/she suffers economic or physical losses can sue the government or protesters, I believe realistically, the person has no right of action.
“In law, events like riots which are even more destructive are deemed to be acts of God for which no one can bear responsibility and can even excuse people from their legal obligations.
“In situation of protests like the #EndSARS protest, who can you hold responsible and then sue for the damage you suffered? The protest has no known leadership and that has been the major reason the government has found it difficult to break it up or even negotiate with the protesters on a negotiation table
“So, who can you sue to court? There is no legal remedy in this situation. If my freedom of movement is breached by peaceful protesters blocking roads like the current protesters have done and I incur financial losses, its unfortunate that I have no remedy either against the government or the protesters.
“Protest is in itself an act of God which the government cannot prevent or control.”
Getting results, ending the protests
United Kingdom-based Judge Dr. Charles Omole reasoned that the protesters could quickly achieve their aim if they appointed leaders. He advised the protesters to organise themselves and negotiate with government.
Omole cautioned that if this is not done soon; “public support will evaporate as daily lives and livelihoods are destroyed by blockades of the protesters. This is patently self-defeating and undesirable.”
Writing on his Twitter handle, @DrCOmole explained.
He said: “Protest is merely a door opener. Detailed policy formulation, coordination and direction is needed to get change. That cannot happen without some leadership. Consensus need leadership input
“Even as a nation, we practice ‘Representative democracy’ since we ALL cannot be making decisions directly for the nation. I will advise the protesters to assemble a Leadership Team that will take all the grievances to govt, with the choice of coming out again if no progress
“The govt cannot negotiate with hundreds of protesters who may have hundreds of responses to the same question. A leadership team is needed for coordination and direction. Progress can then be measured over time with future protests possible if govt does not play ball.”
Why we joined the protests, by lawyers
How did the protests start? On October 3, a video started trending on social media showing a SARS police officer shooting a man in front of Wetland Hotel, Ughelli, Delta State. It was alleged that the police officers took away the man’s vehicle – a Lexus SUV. The video caused public outcry on social media, especially on Twitter, with the #ENDSARS hashtag attending.
Nationwide protests on ENDSARS began five days later with people sharing videos and pictures of police brutality, harassment and extortion. The protests were led predominantly by youths and celebrities.
The police disrupted the protests in some cities, throwing tear-gas and shooting at unarmed peaceful protesters. This led to the death of several people, including Jimoh Isiaq in Oyo.
Lawyers, who took part in the October 13 protest in Ikeja, told The Nation that the protests were justified and long overdue.
Joseph Okusare of Partner at Pillars & Grey Solicitors lamented that lawyers were also victims of police brutality.
He said: “I have had a fair share of such harassment. My saving grace has always been that I am a lawyer. This is not supposed to be so. Every human is endowed with certain inalienable rights. Some of these rights are enshrined in the ground norm of the country – the Constitution of Nigeria and rights found therein must be protected.
“Our message to the Nigeria Police is clear: end police brutality, stop harassing lawyers when they come to the police station, bail should be free in papers and in practice, and extrajudicial killings should stop, improve the welfare of policemen and reform the Nigeria Police.”
Peter Eno-Obong agreed. He said: “The young lawyer is the most oppressed but sought-after individual in the Nigerian society, due to an ineffective, corrupt and incompetent Police Force.”
For Temitope Ogunyemi, a nation that does not respect the rights of its citizenry cannot stand.
“The youths with one voice and together with lawyers as ministers in the temple of justice who have had their fair share of inhuman treatments and brutality by the Nigerian Police, say the time is now, and together we call for a better Nigeria where lives are secured and justice is the right of all,” she said.
Source: thenationonlineng.net
