“The right to demonstrate and the right to protest on matters of public concern are rights which are in the public interest and that which individuals must possess, and which they should exercise without impediment as long as no wrongful act is done.” “The Police Order Act relating to the issuance of police permit cannot be used as a camouflage to stifle the citizens’ fundamental rights in the course of maintaining law and order.”
Inspector-General of Police v All Nigeria Peoples Party and Others. Court of Appeal of Nigeria in the Abuja Judicial Division, December 2007.
The right to demonstrate and the right to protest on matters of public concern are rights which are in the public interest and that which individuals must possess, and which they should exercise.
In an era where N180m and N100m is being set aside for “propaganda” in the Federal Budget, i applaud those that risk their future earnings by protesting.
TuFace by just participating in a protest march has done more for “opposition” than the entire PDP and political class has done since 2015. The protest have now been declared illegal in Lagos State …….meaning when it happens, TuFace may be arrested for staging an illegal protest….
Let me be clear….TuFace will not be invited to any federal government funded event…in fact many private sector organization wont invite him again, he will lose money. I can bet my lunch money NBC will soon review some of his videos and lyrics…..That’s the game, it was done under PDP and the military, APC will do same.
So TuFace…..play the game…take the media…go and submit application for a protest to the Nigerian Police ….if they say you wont march in Lagos States…request permission to gather, use the beach as staging ground if necessary. Also remember digital protest as well….no one needs an application to express an opinion against his government online.
In closing, if all you have done is to play safe and stayed silent (even as citizens are killed in broad daylight for protesting) please dont now badmouth folks that want to still protest….You don’t have to agree with their protest or join them…..you dont even have to respect them…..all you have to do is allow them have their day, its their country too.
Its our problem….we can fix it
