Northern Senators Urge Protesters to Embrace Dialogue As Demonstrators Storm Kano Streets with Russian Flags

Miffed by the level of destruction caused by the violent protests against bad governance in many states in the northern parts of the country, the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has urged the protesting youths to leave the streets and embrace dialogue.

This is just as the adamant youths, mostly the underaged, on Saturday took to the streets of Kano on the third day of the #EndBadGovernance protests, flying the Russian flag, and urging President Vladimir Putin to intervene in the hunger crisis in Nigeria.

While many protesters were feared killed in Kano, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the use of live ammunition on protesters by security agents in Kano and Abuja. 

In Abuja, the protest also took a different turn as security operatives, in violation of a court order that authorised the protesters to use the MKO Abiola Stadium, fired gunshots and teargas canisters at journalists and the protesters at the stadium, though no death or injury was recorded.

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has raised the alarm over what it described as the large-scale killing of protesters and demanded the arrest and prosecution of security agents responsible for the killings.

The Nigeria Police Force has, however, faulted a report by Amnesty International (AI) that its operatives killed 13 protesters on the first day of the protests, saying that only seven were killed, while a total of 681 criminal elements were arrested for committing various offences between Thursday and Friday.

The federal government, through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammad Idris, has also told AI that the protesters who lost their lives, died because the protests turned into riots and were hijacked by hoodlums who set vehicles on fire. 

This is just as the protesters in Lagos vowed to storm the streets on Monday for a new phase of the ongoing protests if the government fails to grant their demands.

As the protests entered the third day on Saturday, the Chairman of the NSF and Senator representing Katsina Central, Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, in a statement issued on behalf of the forum, urged the youths to leave the streets and embrace dialogue.

The federal lawmakers said dialogue was better than protests to avoid wanton destruction of property and loss of lives.

While acknowledging the democratic right of the protesters to embark on a peaceful protest, NSF noted that the protests had resulted in the loss of lives and properties in some states, leading to the declaration of curfews. 

“Therefore, I wish to call on those who organised the nationwide protests to reflect on what happened on the first day of the protests,” the northern senators explained.

The senators noted that President Bola Tinubu was acutely aware of the challenges facing the nation and was working tirelessly to address them.  

Meanwhile, the violent demonstrations continued yesterday with hundreds of youths ignoring the curfew in Kano and storming the streets.

The youths, who were flying the Russian flag, urged President Putin to intervene in the hunger crisis in Nigeria.

In Kurnar Asabe, Fagge LGA of the state, some of the protesters displayed placards with different inscriptions, calling for a military takeover, and threatening that they would rather risk death from violence than continue to suffer from hunger and deprivation.

One of the protesters, Auwalu Idi, told journalists: “We rather die of bullets than die of hunger, we cannot stay at home and die of hunger.”

“We are raising the Russian flag because we believe Tinubu is playing his imperial masters’ scripts – the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United States of America,” Idi added.

During the protest at Kofar Nasarawa in the state capital, one Aliyu Abdullahi of Kofar Nassarawa Quarters was allegedly killed during a clash with the security forces.

In Kurnar Asabe and Rijiyar Lemo, Fagge LGA, the protesters clashed with security forces, which allegedly resulted in the death of nine people, including two women.

A resident of the area Aliyu Abdullahi, who witnessed the incident said “Eight persons were killed in our area including females and children. There was also an elderly woman who is now dead alongside three others while many others left with various degrees of injuries.”

The youths also came out in areas such as Ungwa Uku Zaria Road, Jaen, Gunduwawa, and Tudun Wada Brigade to continue with the protests.

Reacting to the protests, the state Commissioner for Police, Salman Dogo Garba, told journalists that some youths, hiding under a programme organised by an unnamed politician, stormed the streets, chanting anti-government songs.

 “It is true that some group of people who took advantage of a programme organised by one politician took to the streets in continuation of their violent protests but we have suppressed them,” he said.

Security Operatives Shoot at Demonstrators, Journalists in Abuja

Meanwhile, in defiance of the court order restricting the protesters to the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, masked security operatives on Saturday dispersed the protesters and journalists from the facility with gunshots.

As the operatives fired sporadically at the fleeing journalists, bullets pierced a reporter’s car conveying journalists at three different points but no death or injury was recorded.

Meanwhile, Atiku has condemned the use of live ammunition by security agents on protesters in Abuja. 

In a statement issued on Saturday night, Atiku also urged President Bola Tinubu to use the opportunity of his proposed broadcast to Nigerians to address the demands of the protesters.

“I urge the international community, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, to closely monitor the situation in Nigeria and hold its leadership and security apparatus accountable,” he said.

NLC Demands Arrest of Security Agents Responsible for Killings 

In a related development, the NLC has raised the alarm over the large-scale killing of protesters and called for the arrest and prosecution of security operatives responsible for the killings.

In a statement signed by the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, and titled: “Stop This Massacre”, the NLC, threatened that organised labour might be forced to declare an industrial action to protect innocent citizens if the wanton destruction of human lives by the police continued.

 NLC alleged that unconfirmed reports put casualties at over 40 in two days of managing the #EndBadGovernance protests across the country.

The NLC described the Kaduna State Police Command under the watch of Audu Ali Dabigi as the worst culprit, while rating the Edo State Police Command under the command of Funsho Adegboroye as the best in crowd management.

It also knocked the FCT Police Command under the command of Bennett Igweh.

“For a start, we demand that the cops with blood stains on their hands be fished out for appropriate disciplinary action. Ditto their commanders,” NLC said.

NLC also demanded adequate compensation, and release of arrested protesters, while commending the NBA national leadership for directing its human rights committees across the cities to be vigilant.

Protesters Threaten to Storm Lagos Streets on Monday

Despite the firing of live ammunition at protesters in Kano and Abuja yesterday, protesters in Lagos have vowed to storm the streets from Monday for a new phase of protests if the government fails to grant their demands.

One of the coordinators of the protests and member of the Youth Rights Campaign, Mr. Hassan Soweto, said this on Saturday while addressing the crowd at the Gani Fawehinmi Park.

Soweto said there would be no protest at the park today while urging the residents to go to their places of worship to pray for peace in the land.

Soweto called on the police to check the activities of suspected hoodlums, trying to cause problems at the park.

The police barricaded the service lane on Ikorodu Road for the protesters, leaving the BRT and two other lanes for motorists.

The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Adegoke Fayoade, was still on the ground, leading other security agents to protect the protesters.

Police Fault Amnesty’s Report, Say Only Seven Died, 681 Arrested

Reacting to an allegation by the AI that 13 protesters were killed on the first day of the protest, the police said only seven people died while 681 were arrested.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement issued on Saturday, added that apart from the arrests, weapons, including two AK-47 rifles and assorted live ammunition were recovered from the “so-called protesters”.

Providing clarification on the causality figures, Adejobi said a total of seven persons died.

In Borno State, he said four individuals lost their lives and 34 were severely injured in a terrorist attack by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP elements who infiltrated the crowd of protesters and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device.

Adejobi further disclosed that an unregistered Honda Prelude car also ran into the protesters, resulting in the deaths of two civilians.

He said in another incident reported in Yauri, in Yauri Local Government Area of Kebbi State, a local vigilante man shot and killed one of the looters, adding that “this brings the total number of deaths recorded during the protests to seven.”

He said nine policemen had been injured so far.

 Protesters Were Looting Shops, Burning Vehicles, FG Tells AI

While speaking on Al Jazeera TV on Friday night, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris, also told Amnesty International that the protesters who lost their lives, died because the protest turned into riots and was hijacked by hoodlums. 

“It’s impossible for the security agencies to sit by and just allow this thing to happen,” Idris added.

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