The Africa Region HQ of the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) Genèva-Switzerland has stated that even if acting in self-defense no Government is allowed to kill unarmed protesters in International Human Rights law. H.E Dr. Tivlumun Innocent Ahure, the Director/Ambassador of the IHRC Africa Region HQ is issuing a report countering the claim by the Nigerian Government that the protesters provoked and attacked the security forces.
The government says the protesters committed acts of lawlessness and it’s security forces took the option of dispersing them. But Dr. Ahure says it is difficult to accept this view because no discipline of study in dealing with the subject of anti-government protests prescribes shooting at people by security forces as being part of ways and means of getting understanding from aggrieved protesters or maintaining law and order.
Dr. Ahure gave indications that the IHRC Africa Region HQ will reach out to units and departments in the UN system on the fact that there is no justification whatsoever for the killings and deploy diplomatic mechanism to match with the powerful government statements justifying the act. Outrage and cries for justice cannot be a provocation to the Government especially if the central theme for the protests is to complain about police brutality.
The main ideas to help calm frayed nerves in an anti-government protest of this nature is to raise up independent inquiries and also carry out the reforms. The IHRC has severally reported that the Nigerian police has a notorious record of human-rights abuses, brutality, and even extrajudicial killings for the slightest of offenses, such as refusing to give bribes, holding an expensive phone, or driving a fancy car. Reports of police brutality are so common across Nigeria that they are not meaningfully tracked.
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