2021 will be toughest for activists in Nigeria, HURIWA warns

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has the new year of 2021 may be the toughest one for independent minded opinion molders and activists in the country under the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

In its new year message, HURIWA said there are ominous signs that there could be a deliberate activation by the Federal Government of some sets of anti-people policies that may be targeted at abridging the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms of the citizens such as the rights to civil liberty, freedoms of movement and association and, ‘most importantly, the possibility of a renewed resolve by this government to curb the freedom of expression and speech.

“The clear failure of President Buhari to halt the wave of terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria,” HURIWA noted, “would in 2021 compel Nigerians to demonstrate and this will be greeted with violent crackdown by an intolerant government that had in the past deployed armed security forces to forcefully kill peaceful protesters.”

In a media statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs Director, Ms Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said that there are an abundant of supporting facts to show that the President Buhari-led administration will in 2021 seek to further tighten the noose around the determination of social critics and human rights activists to speak out loud and clear against the rise in the violent abuses of the constitutionally protected and guaranteed fundamental freedoms of the citizens.

HURIWA said President Buhari encourages his loyalists and followers to verbally attack civil rights activists only for expressing their own opinions on some notorious and toxic policies of his government that offend the norms and practices allowed under constitutional democracy.

“From available empirical evidence, this Federal Government does not tolerate divergent thinking and opinions and to make matters worse, it is in the habitual pastime of motivating and encouraging mushroom platforms set up by highly subjective and partisan religious and ethnic bigots to go all out to attack voices of dissent to the policies of the administration.

“It is clear that with less than two years before Buhari retires into his palatial mansion in Daura, Katsina State, this government will deal decisively with activists who will speak out against such evil and outrageous policies like deployment of Nigerian commonwealth to develop infrastructures in Niger Republic upgraded fantastically with taxpayers money.