In a recent interview with the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, strongly criticized the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for condemning Senator Ireti Kingibe’s action of providing food to protesters during the #EndBadGovernance protest.
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Professor Odinkalu emphasized that even if incidents occur during a protest, it does not mean that the protesters are expendable. He argued that while the law should be enforced, it should be done in a proportionate manner that respects citizens’ rights to exist.
Addressing Wike’s attitude towards the protest, which included attacks on Senator Kingibe, Odinkalu stated, “I’ve got to call out Nyesom Wike, the minister of the FCT, it’s just atrocious. His arrogance is offensive. You know, we did not escort him to Nigeria.”
Odinkalu referred to a speech by Wike, where the minister alleged that Senator Kingibe supported the protest that erupted across the country by donating food to the protesters. The professor of law drew a parallel to President Tinubu’s actions in 2012, when he supported protesters by providing food at Gani Fawehinmi Park in Lagos during a protest. Odinkalu rhetorically asked whether such an action made Tinubu a criminal at the time.
Instead of condemning senior citizens, public officers, leaders, or politicians, Professor Odinkalu argued that we should commend them as leaders who show empathy and care for the protesters by ensuring that the situation does not escalate. He stated, “That is the kind of leadership and courage you will expect of citizens, not like legislators who have run away from the country or the politicians who have flown out of the country just so that they will not be available to face the wrath of the people.”
Furthermore, Odinkalu called out Wike’s hubris for having “riddled out” results in Rivers State, which he described as “absolutely criminal.” He asserted that Wike should be the one in jail for admitting to doing things he should not have done, yet now the same Wike criminalizes citizens for protesting.
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