The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has expressed anger over the alleged shooting of protesting Okada and tricycle operators in Lagos State by security personnel.
DAILY POST reports that the riders, on Monday, protested the restrictions placed on them by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in some parts the state.
In a statement made available to DAILY POST on Wednesday by NANS South West Coordinator, Kowe Odunayo Amos, the association said, “We condemn in strong terms, the shooting of Keke and Okada riders who were protesting the recent obnoxious policy of the Lagos State Government restricting them from plying certain areas in the State, which has obviously exposed them to criminalities.”
According to Amos, “It is very unfortunate that our police officers once again displayed their cruelty and lack of restraint against these persons that were exercising their godly and humanly recognised right to assembly and peaceful demonstration as stipulated in Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
Speaking further, the students body maintained that, “The action of the Police as displayed against the protesting persons is sheer disregard for human lives, a deviation from the Rules of Engagement and it smacks logic and the feelings of humaneness.
NANS added that “peoples’ right to protest is an internationally and a godly recognized right; a derogation of which should not be tolerated in any sense.”
“As an association, we expect that Nigeria should have gone beyond the era of shooting harmless protesters that were basically showing their dissatisfaction towards what appears to be harsh government policy which would definitely affect their livelihood to the extent that this was even supervised in a State that prides itself as ‘the Centre of Excellence.’
“Nothing justifies the shooting of innocent protesting citizens and we demand for a stop to be put to this nefarious act by those at the top echelons of the country,” NANS declared.
