Do Pro-Biafran groups have a right to do public protests?
NaijaRock
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Posted by Felix Okoli on Friday June 10, 2016 at 12:14:57:
I'm not a lawyer but I do think I know a bit about that the law says since I'm educated and know about Nigeria's constitution. Based on a research I did, I found out that Section 39 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution states that: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without
interference.”With the growth of democracy in Nigeria, one of the things pressure groups in Nigeria tend to be doing actively nowadays is engaging in public protests. Those public protests are mostly peaceful and they don't carry arms or cause violence but from what I've seen from the media, it seems that the police have been obstructing such protests and people have been injured due to those actions. Will the police and army really be able to handle them if those protesters were carrying their own arms and ammunition?Those Nigerians who engage in peaceful acts of public expression probably feel and know that they have a right to do those things as long as they do it peacefully without breaking the law. In a democratic government, people feel more freedom to do what they want because they feel their rights are protected by a constitution. The Nigeria Constitution gives every Nigerian the right of freedom of expression and so when the Nigerian Labour Congress for instance goes for public protest to speak against the removal of fuel subsidy or the harsh economy, they know that they are not breaking the law and that the government cannot arrest them for doing so.However, I'm amazed at the way the Nigerian government has been handling groups that freely express their wishes to opt out of Nigeria. Is there anything really wrong for a person to speak out publicly that they would love a Biafran nation? Is it legally wrong for a Nigerian citizen to publicly express his desire that Nigeria should allow Biafra to be established? Is there really any crime committed when a person says he wants a referendum for a new nation?It is not that they've committed a coup by assassinating the President, gone to Abuja and killed politicians or seized a radio station and declared a Biafran republic. What they've mostly been doing is just public expressions of their preference for a sovereign state of Biafra.I do think that most of those pro-Biafran groups that have been more peaceful than was in the past when a group of army officials engaged in a coupe that eventually led to a civil war during which Biafra was created.I do think that good number of people living in the former Biafran country would still support the creation of Biafra but their major obstacle remains the Nigerian government. It won't be wise for the government to keep denying them at least of their right to engage in peaceful public protests as long as they're not doing anything illegal or unconstitutional. It's just a freedom of expression and they are still Nigeria citizens.I've read many reports from Nigerian newspapers and news channels about how the police and army have shot live bullets at pro-Biafran demonstrations which resulted in the killing of many young people. It is not a good omen for our democracy to be killing people who engage in public demonstration. It is like we are going back to the military era where there was no civilian constitution but decrees.With the poor way which the Nigerian government has been handling peaceful protests, our democracy is being killed gradually. If we really want democracy to last long, it should be the government that upholds the rule of law and not be seen as the one who breaks it by preventing Pro-Biafran groups from engaging in public protests which is nothing but their own way of expressing themselves.
I'm not a lawyer but I do think I know a bit about that the law says since I'm educated and know about Nigeria's constitution. Based on a research I did, I found out that Section 39 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution states that: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without
interference.”With the growth of democracy in Nigeria, one of the things pressure groups in Nigeria tend to be doing actively nowadays is engaging in public protests. Those public protests are mostly peaceful and they don't carry arms or cause violence but from what I've seen from the media, it seems that the police have been obstructing such protests and people have been injured due to those actions. Will the police and army really be able to handle them if those protesters were carrying their own arms and ammunition?Those Nigerians who engage in peaceful acts of public expression probably feel and know that they have a right to do those things as long as they do it peacefully without breaking the law. In a democratic government, people feel more freedom to do what they want because they feel their rights are protected by a constitution. The Nigeria Constitution gives every Nigerian the right of freedom of expression and so when the Nigerian Labour Congress for instance goes for public protest to speak against the removal of fuel subsidy or the harsh economy, they know that they are not breaking the law and that the government cannot arrest them for doing so.However, I'm amazed at the way the Nigerian government has been handling groups that freely express their wishes to opt out of Nigeria. Is there anything really wrong for a person to speak out publicly that they would love a Biafran nation? Is it legally wrong for a Nigerian citizen to publicly express his desire that Nigeria should allow Biafra to be established? Is there really any crime committed when a person says he wants a referendum for a new nation?It is not that they've committed a coup by assassinating the President, gone to Abuja and killed politicians or seized a radio station and declared a Biafran republic. What they've mostly been doing is just public expressions of their preference for a sovereign state of Biafra.I do think that most of those pro-Biafran groups that have been more peaceful than was in the past when a group of army officials engaged in a coupe that eventually led to a civil war during which Biafra was created.I do think that good number of people living in the former Biafran country would still support the creation of Biafra but their major obstacle remains the Nigerian government. It won't be wise for the government to keep denying them at least of their right to engage in peaceful public protests as long as they're not doing anything illegal or unconstitutional. It's just a freedom of expression and they are still Nigeria citizens.I've read many reports from Nigerian newspapers and news channels about how the police and army have shot live bullets at pro-Biafran demonstrations which resulted in the killing of many young people. It is not a good omen for our democracy to be killing people who engage in public demonstration. It is like we are going back to the military era where there was no civilian constitution but decrees.With the poor way which the Nigerian government has been handling peaceful protests, our democracy is being killed gradually. If we really want democracy to last long, it should be the government that upholds the rule of law and not be seen as the one who breaks it by preventing Pro-Biafran groups from engaging in public protests which is nothing but their own way of expressing themselves.