The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has condemned the Kano State Police Command’s disruption of the peaceful.
“Tinubu Must Go” rally at The Avenue Event Center, Kano, describing the action as shameful, unconstitutional and a disturbing descent into authoritarianism.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the council accused the police of violating Nigerians’ fundamental rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The rally, led by Barrister Abba Hikima and organised by concerned youths, was reportedly disrupted when police operatives barricaded The Avenue Event Center and allegedly intimidated participants.
Despite the police action, the council said the youths demonstrated courage and determination by refusing to be silenced and insisting on making their voices heard.
The ADC-PCC expressed particular outrage over the reported arrest of the owner of The Avenue Event Center for allegedly allowing the facility to be used for the gathering, describing the development as another troubling indication of the APC-led government’s intolerance of dissent.
It questioned why a business owner should face arrest for making a facility available for a peaceful gathering.
“This is not democracy. This is tyranny. For how long will the APC continue to use the police to suppress dissenting voices?” Ologbondiyan queried.
He described as ironic a situation in which a government that claims to uphold democratic values appears threatened by citizens exercising their constitutional rights.
“The message from Kano is loud and clear: Nigerians are tired, hungry and angry. You can stop a rally and arrest a venue owner, but you cannot arrest hunger in the land. You cannot barricade the anger and frustration of over 200 million people,” he said.
Ologbondiyan argued that the government’s priorities were misplaced, insisting that the same determination displayed in disrupting the rally should instead be directed towards tackling insecurity, banditry and the crushing cost of living.
“If the APC government had deployed the same energy it used to stop a peaceful rally at The Avenue Event Center to tackle insecurity, banditry and the excruciating cost of living, Nigeria would be a safer and more prosperous nation,” he added.
The council commended Barrister Abba Hikima and the youths who participated in the rally for their courage and determination to speak out despite the reported police intimidation.
It also called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Kano State Police Command to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of the event centre owner, if still in custody, and to desist from actions capable of turning the police into an instrument of political oppression.
The ADC-PCC further urged civil society organisations, human rights groups and the international community to pay close attention to what it described as a dangerous erosion of democratic freedoms in Nigeria.
“The right to protest is not a privilege granted by the police or the APC; it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. No amount of intimidation will stop Nigerians from demanding change.
“The ADC stands firmly with Barrister Abba Hikima, the courageous youths of Kano and every Nigerian who has found the courage to say enough is enough,” the statement concluded.
