Department of Church and Society of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (DCSCSN) has called on the Federal Government to empanel a committee of elder statesmen, civil society groups and the Youth to redefine the rules of engagement and proffer solutions to the nationwide protests.
National Director, DCSCSN, Rev. Fr Uchechukwu Obodoechina, who made the call at a news conference in Abuja, stressed that the youth are calling for a holistic reform of the Nigerian Police Force and the entire security architecture of the country.
Obodoechina stated that the call to reform, retrain and re-orient the Police Force must be prioritized.
“It is not enough to rename the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), to SWAT.
”The Nigerian Youth along with the rest of the Nigerian citizens are living witnesses to situations of poverty, and disease, exacerbated ‘by infrastructural decay, ruined healthcare systems, endemic insecurity and a tenuous social life.
”The living standard of most average Nigerian families is nothing to write home about.
“In fact, the hunger and poverty, the banditry and insecurity, the unemployment and the systemic corruption in the rank and file of Government, the abuse of human rights and the profligacy of the political class among others are evidently unbearable.
”Life has become dangerously brutish and short in Nigeria.
“As it were, the Nigerian Youth, with grim determination woke up from its sleep to demand not only for the disbandment of the notorious security formation but also for an immediate social transformation programme capable of ensuring a good life for all Nigerians.
”The Church and Society Department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria upholds that the dignity of the human person is inviolable and non-negotiable.
”Human persons are made in the images and likeness of God and are imbued with inalienable dignity.
“The Police Force and other Security outfit, within and outside Nigeria are so instituted to guarantee security of life and property of citizens,” he said.
Obodoechina added that, it is instructive to note that section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended provides, in an unequivocal term, the protection of the dignity of every person.
”It states inter alia:
“Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly, no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment;
“No person shall be held in slavery or servitude;
“And no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
”It is, therefore, preposterous for our democracy and the course of good governance, when the rule of law does not hold sway in the ebb and flow of government processes.”
Obodoechina said that the Nigerian state would be ill-prepared for the pending anarchy and doom that could result therefrom.
”But looking to the future with optimism, and wishing to bring the on-going nationwide protest to a peaceful resolution, we, the DCSCSN, hereby make the following suggestions.
”The Federal Government as a matter of urgency, should empanel a committee of elder statesmen, well-meaning opinion leaders, civil society groups along with the Youth to redefine the rules of engagement and proffer solutions to the spiraling protests.
”It would be mutually self-destructive for the government, overtly or covertly, to try to arm-twist the protesters with intimidations and the use of either the Army or the Police.
”In whichever way, the use of force, or the operation of the ‘Exercise Crocodile Smile’ would exacerbate the feud in an already toxic and volatile environment.
“The protesting Youth deserve to be listened to and taken very seriously.
”Justice must be done and seen to be done indeed. This is most urgent in the light of the victims of police brutality, living and dead.
“Just compensation is inevitable, while the Police perpetrators are to be fished out across the country for proper prosecutions under the course of law,” he said.
He added that the call to reform, retrain and re-orient the Police Force must be prioritised.
“It is not enough to rename the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), to SWAT.
”Police personnel should be reoriented on the need to respect, protect and promote the fundamental human rights of citizens.
”The Government must as a matter of urgency, develop effective strategies that would ensure inclusive governance, strengthening the judicial, health, educational, and social systems to serve the Common Good of all citizens.
”It is still the duty of Government to take proactive steps to ensure peace, security and stability in the land. There would be no lasting basis for peace without justice.
”Though pursuing a worthy course, since their demands align with the tenets of democracy and indices of good Governance, the Youth must avoid all forms of violence and banditry, taking the laws into their hands, lest the message and aims of the protest would be defeated,” Obodoechina said.
He, however, said that in dynamic collaboration with all well-meaning Nigerians, the Nigerian Youth, Civil society Organisations, and the International community are calling for a holistic reform of the Nigerian Police Force.
”They call for reform of the entire security architecture in the country and the diverse structures of governance to reflect true structures of service for fullness of life for all Nigerians.“Nothing short of this aspiration would be acceptable.nan”
…
