A coalition of 13 civil society organisations has advised that the government’s proposed dialogue with #EndBadGovernance protesters should “start with the immediate release of all arrested peaceful protesters and sanctions against security agents who attacked unharmed peaceful protesters.”
President Tinubu, during his speech on the fourth day of protests, expressed the government's openness to dialogue with the protesters.
The CSOs recommended that the dialogue be “continued by officials and representatives of both sides with sincerity of purpose.”
Signatories of the statement include BudgIT Foundation, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and Enough is Enough (EiE).
However, they warned that dialogue could be difficult to negotiate if security forces continue to “aggravate” the situation with protesters.
They also recommended that representatives of the National Peace Committee and “respectable civil society groups act as facilitators and observers of this dialogue process and its outcomes.”
The protests have entered their sixth day and demonstrators continue to demand economic and political reforms such as the return of gasoline subsidies and a cut in civil servants' salaries and allowances.
Article page with promotion of financial support
While protesters vowed to continue marching until August 10, the organizations urged the federal government to “grant the simplest of requests as a guarantee of its commitment to citizen-centered governance and leadership.”
The organisations also reminded the Nigerian government that sovereignty belongs to the people and that it is imperative to involve citizens from the perspective of their needs within their stated demands.
Violence against protesters
Since the first day of protests, police, especially in Abuja and some northern states, have used violence to suppress the protests, firing tear gas canisters at protesters and journalists covering the protests.
On the first day, some protesters and journalists were also arrested, including Yakubu Mohammed of PREMIUM TIMES, who was brutalized by the police.
By the third day of protests, police said they had arrested nearly 700 protesters across the country.
On Sunday evening, security agents arrested a leader of one of the groups leading the protests.
Amnesty International reported that at least 13 people have been killed, mostly by police, since the protests began. However, police dispute the figures and the causes.
READ ALSO: #EndBadGovernance protest: Tinubu’s broadcast a model for dialogue – MINILS DG
Despite these incidents, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun said his officers handled the protests professionally.
Some protesters also turned violent and looted property in places like Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna and Plateau, leading to the imposition of curfews.
In some northern states, such as Kano and Kaduna, some protesters waved Russian flags. More than 30 of those people were arrested, authorities said, warning that this amounted to treason.