Sowore: Don’t Further Heat Up Nigeria, Okei-Odumakin Tells FG
Joe Okei-Odumakin, widow of the late human rights activist, Yinka Odumakin, on Monday, took a break from her self-imposed three-month mourning period to condemn the reported shooting of former presidential candidate and publisher of online news medium, SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, who was injured by a tear gas canister fired by a police operative in Abuja.
Sowore, who is the convener of the #RevolutionNow and #BuhariMustGo campaigns, was preparing to hold a rally with some associates when the incident happened at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, on Monday.
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Reacting in a statement titled, ‘Are we at war? Mourning Joe Okei Odumakin asks FG’, Okei-Odumakin, who is also an activist and the President of Centre for Change, urged the Federal Government not to further heat up the polity by abusing the fundamental human rights of citizens.
She said, “This is unacceptable! Nigeria is a democratic country under law and not a dictatorship or banana republic.
“Freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of movement are some of the fundamental human rights granted to Nigerian citizens by the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“The widely-expressed flaws of this Constitution notwithstanding, it still charges journalists to hold the government accountable to the people.
“It accords the people the right of peaceful protest, especially when drawing government officials’ attention to their failings and the expectations of citizens from them, which is legitimate.
“We, therefore, condemn the shooting of Sowore as barbaric and an infringement of his rights under the law.
“These rights include the right to life, which is basic and which no government or its agents can breach in a whimsical way.
“We ask the Federal authorities to call the police to order, fish out the culprits and bring them to trial.
“The country is on tenterhooks already and nothing must be done by the authorities to heat up the polity further.
“We demand prompt and effective treatment of Sowore and any of his colleagues wounded in the unprovoked assault by the security operatives.
“All men and women of goodwill must condemn this assault and hold the government accountable.
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“Patriotic Nigerians committed to securing a better future for our country must not be deterred by this dastardly act aimed at intimidating them but must redouble their efforts and forge ahead until victory is won.
“Nigeria shall be free! And the people shall rejoice!”
Worldtopnewsng had earlier reported that Afenifere spokesman and columnist, Yinka Odumakin, died on April 2, 2021, of COVID-19 complications at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
