Respect Citizens’ Right To Peaceful Protest – US, UK, Others Tell FG

• There were reports of widespread attacks on peaceful protesters by security forces at different Nigerian cities during Saturday’s demonstrations

The Canadian, United Kingdom and United States missions to Nigeria have separately called on law enforcement agencies to respect citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstrations.

Nigerians trooped to the streets for the widely publicised June 12 protest on Saturday.

The three countries, along with the European Union’s delegation to Nigeria, and the Irish embassy in Nigeria, had issued a joint statement condemning the recent ban on Twitter in Nigeria in the past week.

Read also: #June12Protest: PDP Condemns Clampdown On Peaceful Demonstrators

Amid reports of crackdown on peaceful protesters in Abuja and Lagos, and other parts of Nigeria, the U.S. mission to the country, tweeted on Saturday, “We’re committed to promoting democracy, transparency & accountability,” adding, “#Democracy carries responsibilities. Calm and restraint support fundamental freedoms.”

Similarly, the Acting Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nicolas Simard, called for restraint on the part of both the Nigerian security forces and protesters in a tweet on Saturday, noting that Nigeria’s constitution recognises the right to peaceful assembly.

“Right to peaceful assembly is also a fundamental human right protected by #Nigeria’s constitution and international human rights instruments. We call on all parties to exercise restraint and on Nigerian law enforcement agencies to remain within proportional use of force,” Mr Simard’s tweet, which was also retweeted by the Canadian High Commission to Nigeria read.

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