Farotimi: Nigeria fears accountability, not armed groups

Civil rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, says the Nigerian state fears accountability and the rule of law more than it fears armed groups terrorizing citizens.

Farotimi stated this on Tuesday while responding to questions in an interview on The Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television.

He said that the Nigerian state has consistently demonstrated hostility towards citizens who peacefully demand their rights while showing tolerance to violent actors like bandits and terrorists.

His stance comes after a protest for the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from detention.

The protest, led by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, was held in Abuja on Monday.

“I think it is easy to elicit the truth when you look at the objective realities. On October 20, 2020, Nigerians were protesting peacefully, waving flags and singing the national anthem. They were murdered in cold blood. That is the response of the Nigerian state to those demanding to be treated as citizens,” he said.

Farotimi noted that the #EndSARS protest was a response to years of brutality by the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which he described as the “brutal arm” of the Nigerian government in enforcing impunity. He said rather than address citizens’ grievances, the state resorted to violence.

He added that every time activists like Omoyele Sowore and others organize protests, the Nigerian Police respond with “full force, always ready to murder and maim,” but remain silent in the face of atrocities committed by bandits, terrorists and armed militias.

“When you look at the way the same Nigerian state treats bandits, terrorists, and Fulani militia murdering Nigerians in the full glare of everyone, you see complicit silence by the state. The Nigerian state is scared of being subjected to the rule of law and being accountable to its victims,” he added.

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