Timi Frank Calls on President Tinubu to Release Detained Hunger Protesters … Condemns FCT Minister’s Actions, Urges Protection of Peaceful Demonstrators
ABUJA/Nigeria: In a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, urged President Bola Tinubu to order the immediate and unconditional release of all hunger protesters detained by police and other security forces.
Frank also called on the President to prevent further violence and the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters by law enforcement agencies. He criticized the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for his antagonistic stance towards the protesters, suggesting that President Tinubu should consider dismissing Wike if he continues to show disrespect towards Nigerian youths.
“Nigerians have the inalienable right to protest against government policies that adversely affect them and to demand changes for the collective good,” Frank stated.
He acknowledged that while the ongoing protests are well-intentioned, they have been exploited by sponsored groups in some states, aiming to discredit the organizers and provide security forces with an excuse to suppress the demonstrations.
“This should not be the case. The vacation Judge in Abuja who curtailed the rights of protesters by unjustly restricting them to the Moshood Abiola Stadium and other public spaces in Lagos also ruled that the police and other security agencies should protect the protesters both in Abuja and other parts of the country,” he noted.
Frank criticized security forces for failing to adhere to the court’s order, resulting in unjust killings, arrests, brutalization, and incarceration of protesters, as well as the hijacking of protests by government-sponsored agents to perpetuate criminal acts.
“This situation must not be allowed to continue. The President must genuinely protect the youths who are protesting. He must approach the protesters like a father dealing with an angry child. After all, the youths have no other country to call their own,” Frank emphasized.
As the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, Frank condemned FCT Minister Wike for obtaining a biased court order to confine protesters to the Abuja Stadium. He also praised the courage of demonstrators who defied the order.
“The enforcement of this unjust order has led to peaceful protesters being tear-gassed by the police, arrested, and detained in large numbers, alongside the harassment of journalists,” Frank emphasized.
He warned that further acts of aggression against peaceful protesters by police and other security agencies could escalate tensions and provoke resistance from the demonstrators.
Frank called on the international community to closely monitor the ongoing protests and the security forces’ brutal responses. He urged the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union to impose visa bans on the FCT Minister and the chiefs of police and the army responsible for the mistreatment of protesters.
Expressing condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured, Frank urged the International Criminal Court to hold the Inspector General of Police and all Service Chiefs in Nigeria accountable for the killings of unarmed protesters in recent days.
