End Twitter suspension and violations of the right to Freedom of expression

Dear President, Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari,

Dear Attorney General of the Federation, Abubarka Malami




Nigerian authorities have unlawfully suspended access to Twitter for millions of Nigerians. They even directed Media houses to deactivate their Twitter accounts. Those actions are clear violations of the right to freedom of expression, access to information, and freedom of the press.

I call on you to ensure that access to Twitter is unimpeded and that no other restrictions are put in place to hinder access to any social media.

When in the streets, peaceful protesters are met with violent reprisal from the Nigerian authorities. Now their online voices have been silenced as well.




I urge you to guarantee the right to freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom.

Nigerians’ voices matter.




Sincerely,

Oludele Abiola



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Buhari & Malami

EMAIL PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI AND ATTORNEY GENERAL ABUBAKAR MALAMI

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COUNT BENUE OUT: No gazetted land or cattle route in Benue State, Ortom tells Buhari

The Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has said there is no gazetted land or cattle route in Benue State therefore his state should be counted out of the proposed grazing reserves programme. 

Ortom insist that if the President Muhammadu Buhari must actualize his cattle agenda in Benue State, he  should be ready to kill all its inhabitants.

A statement by his chief press secretary Terver Akase futher opined that the State knows that grazing reserves and cattle routes are the only project that the President has for Nigeria, but Benue is not interested in such a project. 

The Governor is reacting to a statement credited to the Presidency

 indicating that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved recommendations of a committee to review “with dispatch,” 368 grazing sites, across 25 states in the country, “to determine the levels of encroachment.”

Governor Ortom is not only shocked but disappointed at the statement. 

He maintained that the Federal Government has no constitutional right to appropriate lands for itself or anyone else for that matter without the approval of State Governors. 

"The Land Use Act has made Governors the custodians of all lands in their states.Nigeria is practicing democracy not despotism."He added.

Of greater concern to the Governor is the fact that insecurity has reached an all-time high with hundreds being killed by armed herdsmen, bandits and other terrorists, yet the Presidency is only bordered about animals and their safety and is deploying all machinery and arsenals of government to impose grazing reserves and cattle routes on Nigerians which is unacceptable! 

"It is now clear that the Presidency wants to plunge the country into avoidable crisis. 

Otherwise, what is the justification for President Buhari’s insistence that grazing reserves be established across the country when Nigerians have openly kicked against the policy and have embraced ranching in place of open grazing? 

Millions of Nigerians have been displaced following attacks by armed herders and are currently suffering in IDP camps. 

Benue State for instance has over 1.5 million displaced people with thousands living in camps and many more forced to flee their ancestral lands to stay under dehumanizing conditions in open fields. 

The Buhari administration does not seem to be worried about the food crisis already ravaging the country.

 Farmers have been chased into IDP camps by herders and children are dying of starvation, yet what is more important to their President is the well being of cows. "The Statement read in part. 

The Governor who expected the pitiable condition of the displaced people to be the preoccupation of the President whom they voted in 2015 and 2019 maintains that is unfortunate that the people’s love, trust and votes for Mr President are being rewarded with hate, cruelty and dictatorial policies aimed at grabbing their lands to donate to herders and cows. 

He challenged the Presidency to name what it has done to alleviate the plight of those displaced by herdsmen in Benue State since 2018. 

"What is the difference between the Buhari administration’s approach to insecurity and the Taliban agenda in Afghanistan? 

It is now evident that the government at the centre prioritizes the welfare of cattle over human beings and is bent on taking Nigeria back to the precolonial era.

The country has been turned to a cow republic by the present administration. "Ortom added.

He insists that the country has never been more divided on ethnic lines and sentiments as it is under President Buhari. 

While noting that the President may not be aware that all the northern states including his home state Katsina and the entire southern states have unanimously rejected open grazing of livestock and approved ranching Ortom insists the Presidency is whipping a dead horse on the issue of grazing reserves. 

He said those saddled with the duty of advising Mr President have apparently failed in their responsibility. 

"We also read the President’s comments yesterday at the National Security Council meeting where he threatened to sack Security Chiefs for what he termed failure to tackle insecurity in the country. 

Why won’t the Security Chiefs fail when the body language of the Commander-in-Chief points to a clan of sacred cows who must be spared and given protection to perpetuate evil? 

How will the Security Chief succeed when their formations are not well funded and the soldiers are left to confront terrorists who have superior weapons?

 If Mr President indeed made the statement attributed to him, he was not being fair to the security agencies. "The Statement added. 

He equally expressed disappointment over members of the committee which recommended that grazing reserves be established in parts of the country adding that they are the real enemies of Nigeria.

TIB condemns the violence, derogatory attacks against a Nigerian residence of Indonesia by Indonesian authorities

The "Take it back movement" has on Wednesday condemned in strong terms the violence and highly derogatory attacks against a Nigerian residence of Indonesia by Indonesian authorities.

According to the statement made available by the group, the TIB says: "We reject it as barbaric, disgusting, unlawful and a complete violation of both human rights and International accords."

"We willill no longer tolerate the violation of the rights of Nigerians by foreign authorities"

"No doubt, the unfortunate development in Indonesia can be classified as part of a series of unfortunate trends of utter disrespect and rights violations, Nigerians and Africans in diaspora continue to face in the hands of racist authorities."

"Needless to say, the reason Nigerians living abroad are disrespected without regards to their rights is the fact that Nigeria parades rulers that lack respect for the rights of its citizens, both home and abroad. That is the reason our citizens are treated with disgust and utter disdain by authorities of other countries."

"The World watched how the Nigerian government killed it’s youths for protesting police brutality. The world is witness to the fact that the Nigerian leaders lack respect for the lives of its citizens. The world saw and witnessed how Nigerians continue to troop en-masse into foreign countries due to a complete breakdown of governance in Nigeria."

"And now, we have seen how a Nigerian Public Officer has been visited with the violence and barbarism ordinary Nigerians living in diaspora have to cope with almost on daily bases. This Public Officer is now confronted with the same evil the regime of Buhari, under whom he serves, has been meting on the people of Nigeria over the past seven years. As a member of the ruling class, he has now become a victim of Buhari’s incompetence and the complete damage the regime has done to the image and respect of the Nigerian people and the black race."

READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

VIDEO: NIGERIA'S Former High Commissioner To Indonesia Ibrahim Baba Mai-Sule Almost Strangled To Death By Immigration Officers, Abuja Says Unacceptable

11TH AUGUST 2021

VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF NIGERIANS BY FOREIGN AUTHORITIES 

Statement Of The TakeItBack movement, Global.

We Will No Longer Tolerate The Violation Of The Rights Of Nigerians By Foreign Authorities

The TakeitBack Movement condemns with strong vehemence, the violence and highly derogatory attacks against a Nigerian residence of Indonesia by Indonesian authorities. We reject it as barbaric, disgusting, unlawful and a complete violation of both human rights and International accords. 

According to a video making the rounds on the internet, a Nigerian Consular in Indonesia, Mr. Abdulrahman Ibrahim, can be seen being brutalized and harassed almost to a point of death. While Mr. Ibrahim’s rights were being violated by Indonesian authorities, the consular kept screaming ‘’i cant breathe’’. But the groans of pain by the Nigerian seemed not to move the unprofessional and highly barbaric officers who may have quickly forgotten that George Floyd in the US was extrajudicially murdered in a similar pattern by racist police officers.  

No doubt, the unfortunate development in Indonesia can be classified as part of a series of unfortunate trends of utter disrespect and rights violations, Nigerians and Africans in diaspora continue to face in the hands of racist authorities.

Needless to say, the reason Nigerians living abroad are disrespected without regards to their rights is the fact that Nigeria parades rulers that lack respect for the rights of its citizens, both home and abroad. That is the reason our citizens are treated with disgust and utter disdain by authorities of other countries. 

The World watched how the Nigerian government killed it’s youths for protesting police brutality. The world is witness to the fact that the Nigerian leaders lack respect for the lives of its citizens. The world saw and witnessed how Nigerians continue to troop en-masse into foreign countries due to a complete breakdown of governance in Nigeria. 

And now, we have seen how a Nigerian Public Officer has been visited with the violence and barbarism ordinary Nigerians living in diaspora have to cope with almost on daily bases. This Public Officer is now confronted with the same evil the regime of Buhari, under whom he serves, has been meting on the people of Nigeria over the past seven years. As a member of the ruling class, he has now become a victim of Buhari’s incompetence and the complete damage the regime has done to the image and respect of the Nigerian people and the black race. 

For us in the TakeItBack Movement, we are resolved to confront and engage all attempts at unlawful aggression and rights violation of Nigerians and Africans living in the diaspora. It is to this end that we will be engaging the Indonesian authorities over this matter, using all lawful means within our disposal.

Every person, including Nigerians have the right to live in dignity in whatever country they find themselves. And in situations where laws are breached, we believe the rule of law and human rights should not be thrown to the winds.

Conclusively, we urge Nigerians living in the diaspora to join us massively in the quest to rid Nigeria of incompetent and lawless leaders. We ask that you join us in the task to take back Nigeria from the rule of maladministration, lawlessness, mass poverty, death and destruction. It should be noted that until Nigeria is free, none of us will be free to agitate for whatever good life or nation we want, or free from the burden that comes with carrying the imposed identity of the poverty capital of the world.  

Signed:

Dr. Chidi Nwanyanwu

Director of Media, Communications and PR

TakeItBack Movement, Global

CORE ON THE IWO ROAD SAGA

• We call for a public investigation into the cause of violence at Iwo road on the 16th of June, 2021 

• The Oyo state government must wake up to security challenges ravaging the state and guarantee justice for victims 

• We call for the restoration of a democratic union of road transport workers in Oyo state as an umbrella body that will be responsible for the activities and interests of her members

•For a governmental and economic systems that work for all 

The Coalition for Revolution (CORE), Oyo state chapter condemns the insecurity ravaging the state. The Igangan residents are still mourning the massacre that claimed lots of precious lives at their region. Meanwhile, yet another violence broke out at the Iwo road axis of Ibadan claiming the life of an individual and leaving property and businesses destroyed. The aforementioned are just a few among the day to day security challenges across the state.

We therefore maintain that a public investigation be carried out on the Iwo road saga that must involve the community members and security agents.

While speculations are, that, leading members of transport workers were involved in the violence, we cannot but see it as a result of the unwarranted ban on the NURTW in the state by the state government. This development where the umbrella body of the transport workers has been dismantled, leaves the issues among transport workers a 'free for all' situation where misconduct cannot be easily traced to members. This, at the same time, infringes on the mutual way with which transport workers can air their opinions or protect their interests as workers who are also play a key role in daily activities of people. We therefore call for the restoration of democratic union of the road transport workers that will be responsible for the activities of her members.

We equally condemn the manner with which the state government has been handling security challenges in the state, the government must wake up to protect the lives and property of the people which it swore to do. We believe that if security challenges were given such attention as how security forces are deployed to peaceful protest grounds, we might not be in this situation. Governor Seyi Makinde is the Chief Security Officer of the state should be responsible for the challenges of insecurity that is fast encroaching.

Meanwhile, communities must organize themselves to defend against the security challenges ravaging the state especially in this situation where government has been slow to act. In the same manner, we must continue to demand justice for all victims of this gory developments.

Lastly, CORE calls for an economic and governmental system that works for all. We believe that the challenges of insecurity are not unconnected from the misery and poverty of both pocket and mind facing the masses. The scriptural quote puts it that "the idle hand remains the devil's workshop". 

People must continue to agitate for portable employment for the teeming youth population, living wage for workers that corresponds with the cost of living in Nigeria, affordable and qualitative education as well an environment that develops the productive potentials of the Nigerian people.