Members of the UK parliament on Monday, November 23, held a debate on the petition to the United Kingdom government seeking a sanction on some Nigerian government officials by the EndSARS protesters over gross human right abuse.
During a sitting at the Westminster Hall, the lawmakers took turns to slam the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government for the poor handling of the protest.
The debate for the petition tagged ‘e-petition 554150' was led by Theresa Villiers, a member of the British Conservative Party.
While describing the "Nigerian government's violence against its own citizens" as intensifying, Kate Osamor, a member who is representing Edmonton, said the corruption and police brutality still continue.Parliamentarians who spoke raised eyebrows against the defence of the federal government that there was no shooting at the Lekki toll gate.
Osamor also described as "undemocratic conduct" the claim by the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, that the killing and shooting at Lekki, as contained in a CNN report, is fake news.
The member said:
"The Nigerian government needs to stop freezing bank accounts of key protesters; it needs to stop illegal detentions of key protesters.
“We are aware that some protesters have reported facing intimidation and the British High Commissioner in Abuja continues to raise our concerns about intimidation of civil society groups and peaceful protesters with the Nigerian government."
The UK parliament said it would continue to communicate with the governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and a top member of the Nigerian presidency.
The parliament concluded that "future sanctions could reduce the impact of the designations."
Meanwhile, Alh.Lai Mohammed wrote CNN on behalf of the Buhari's administration over the media outlets report on Lekki Tollgate.
The minister of information and culture in the letter dated November 23 demanded an investigation into the report.
The minister also lambasted the international media organisation, saying the report falls short of journalistic standards.
No comments:
Post a Comment