COVID-19 PROTESTS IN SAPELE: AAC Condemns Arrests, Demands For Immediate And Unconditional Release of Protesters.

“The safety and happiness of every Sapele citizen is important and top most priority to AAC thus, we will do everything within our legal right to give them the good leadership they deserve”. AAC Sapele Chapter.

“At this critical time when Deltans are looking for succor and fatherly love from the Governor, it turns out the Governor has chosen to intimidate Deltans by shutting them up, violently”.

  

Following the protests by residents of Sapele on April 15 over the lockdown order by the state government that resulted to the arrests of some of the protesters, the African Action Congress, AAC Sapele chapter has condemned, in strong terms, the arrests of those involved in the civil protests.

The Sapele Chapter of the AAC, under the Chairmanship of Prince Igho Sadjere in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, B.K. Kelvin condemned the unlawful arrest of those involved in the April 15 protest and therefore, called for their immediate and unconditional release.

The AAC in the statement, noted that majority of Sapele residents, including women, had gathered to exercise their constitutional right by embarking on peaceful protest to voice out their anger and displeasure toward the state government continued lockdown of the state without providing means of livelihood for them.

According to the party, “the Right to Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assemble is a constitutional right enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the State Governor, who was once a law maker in the Nigeria Senate before becoming the Governor of Delta state ought to have known that protest is constitutional”.

The statement pointed out that with other nations of the world facing more dire situations from the COVID-19 pandemic took into considerations, the well being of the citizenry and that did not also, stop the people from expressing their reservations.

“In spite of the trillions of dollars spent on American citizens to stay at home, some states in the US, including Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina and Utah people in their thousands, gathered together on April 16 to protest against the continued lockdown of the United States. No single arrest was made because, they were exercising their constitutional rights and one wonders why that of Nigeria is different when we are all practicing the same democracy”, the statement read.

“At this critical time when Deltans are looking for succor and fatherly love from the Governor, it turns out the Governor has chosen to intimidate Deltans by shutting them up, violently”.

The AAC leader cautioned that, “rather than looking for those who participated in the hunger-induced protest, it will be better to look at the root cause of the protest and resolve it by giving to Deltans, economic assistance to survive this trying period”.

The AAC Chairman therefore called on the Governor to introduce partial lockdown as it will help those who depend on daily jobs to survive this lockdown.

Amb. Sadjere called on the governor to prosecute the vigilante members that shot live bullets at the peaceful protesters with the intention to kill them.

He further called on the governor and his team, to release the Sapele peaceful protesters and their leaders who were moved after their arrest.

“Failure to release them before Monday 20th April, AAC Sapele chapter will be forced to contact our team of lawyers to petition both the State Government and the Commissioner of Police for their immediate release”, the AAC warned.

“The safety and happiness of every Sapele citizen is important and top most priority to AAC thus, we will do everything within our legal right to give them the good leadership they deserve”.