- Odinkalu spoke the X microblogging platform to commemorate International Human Rights Day.
The former National Human Rights Commission chairman, Chidi Odinkalu, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress exploited protests to gain power in 2015 but now suppresses demonstrations.
Odinkalu spoke at Global Rights’ event, themed “Protest in Nigeria: A democracy that disqualifies dissent,” on International Human Rights Day.
“I’m not quite sure it’s within my pay grade to assess the Nigerian government’s performance on the right to protest. Partly because the right to protest is not given by the government,” Odinkalu said.
He emphasized that the right to protest belongs to the people, requiring coordination with the state to ensure peaceful demonstrations.
Nigeria’s current leaders, including the president, have a history of protests, Odinkalu noted.
They leveraged protests to win the 2015 election as the All Progressives Congress.
This success indicates that Nigeria’s right to protest was previously respected.
However, since taking power, they’ve significantly restricted protest rights.
Evidence includes the shutdown of the Bring Back Our Girls protest venue in Abuja.
The ruling party initially used this protest to gain public support.
After gaining power, they shut down the venue and protests.
The site has been fenced off, making it unavailable for protests.