March 24th is a day set aside as the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims to honor the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations, promoting the importance of the right to truth and justice.
In Nigeria, numerous and continuous human rights abuses have been witnessed, begging the question of whether democracy is being rightly practiced. From extrajudicial killings to enforced disappearance, threats for having opposing opinions, arrest, and jailing of government critics.
To commemorate this day, Agidigbo correspondent Omowumi Abraham shared the untold stories of Nigerian activists.
In an interview with the National Coordinator of Take It Back Movement, Comrade Juwon Sanyaolu acknowledged the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims as an opportunity to reminisce and reflect on the global challenges of human rights, stressing that the world is tilting towards authoritarianism.
He said, “I think this is an opportunity for us actually to reminisce and reflect on the global challenges of human rights. This is a statement of fact that presently, globally, the world is tilting further into authoritarianism. That’s a global phenomenon as we’ve seen recently happening in the United States of America. But coming back home, we have witnessed increasing human rights violation, especially within the last three years of Tinubu’s Government journalists have violently attacked, repressed under abducted.”
Sharing his personal experience, Comrade Juwon Sanyaolu recounted how he had been violently attacked over the years, citing other victims of state repression like journalist Fisayo Soyombo.
He said, “The case of many other journalists is an example during the end bad governance protest, whereby Nigerians were calling for an end to bad government. Over 2000 people were arrested nationwide, including children, some of which were tried for prison. I mean, trying children for prison is the height of Tinubu’s madness.
“Many journalists were attacked during this period and the regime killed about 40 persons in the course of the peaceful demonstration, including women and children. The judiciary was also used as an instrument to sanction disorder, authoritarian rule, and repression of we saw during the end bad governance protest how the regime got dubious, court injunctions against activists who are the forefronts of organising people like myself.
“For instance, there was a court injunction that targeted my freedom, restricting me and telling me where I must not go and where I must go during the period of the End Bad Governance protest. As a matter of fact, I was restricted from places such as Ikeja and many other parts of Lagos.
Comrade Juwon Sanyaolu urged Nigerians and activists to keep fighting for justice despite the challenges. He said, “The aim of the government, or what the regime is doing most recently is to shrink the civic space enough, stamp out the right to freedom of expression so that they are able to impose more anti-people policies by that, people would be unable to express themselves.
“We see what they are doing indeed in River states, with the Declaration of Military in river states. So this is part of the tragedy and why we must reflect on a day such as this.
“We should commit ourselves to fight, to keep the civic space open, to confront the authoritarian direction of the government, confront also the illegal policies the government continues to impose on the Nigerian people.
Also, a member of the Socialist Workers League, Comrade Osetohamhen Ebhohon condemned the rise in the cost of living, stressing that the government is making life difficult for Nigerian citizens.
He said, ” The removal of subsidy is a violation of Nigerians human rights because the right to life is a human right. And right now, as it seems, those things that ensure a human being has the right to life are no longer affordable for the Nigerian people. Nigeria is the epic centre of human rights violation”
Addressing the issue of human rights violation, A water right activist, Dr Gideon Adeyeni said he has witnessed firsthand experience of brutalition for merely exercising his right to protest.
He said, “Personally, I have had a firsthand experience of where government agents have brutalised us for merely exercising the rights to protest.
“The right to life is not respected when there is no investment in basic services like healthcare and water. The right to protest is violated when people are beaten on the streets for merely peacefully protesting. So we see a situation in which those who hold power continue to violate rights today.
“It is important that we continue to insist and stand up to say that protecting the rights of people is to ensure that everyone lives in dignity, is to ensure that we live in a world of peace,” he added.
This year’s theme, “Advancing victim rights and building just communities,” is geared towards the commitment to uphold human dignity and promote accountability for human rights violations.