Oct 1st: Tinubu To Address Nigerians In Nationwide Broadcast

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will make a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 7 a.m.

Naija News reports that this was made known in a statement on Monday by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The broadcast is part of activities to commemorate the 64th Independence Anniversary of the nation.

Television, radio stations and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria for the broadcast.

October 1 Protest: HURIWA Seeks UN Help To Protect Protesters From Govt Crackdown

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva and the UN Secretary-General in New York to intervene and pressure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to refrain from deploying armed security forces against peaceful demonstrators scheduled to protest on October 1, 2024.

Naija News reports that the protest is aimed at denouncing the rising cost of living and poor governance in Nigeria.

HURIWA’s call for international intervention stems from growing concerns that the Nigerian government, under President Tinubu, is preparing to dispatch heavily armed security personnel to suppress peaceful protests, similar to the events of August 2024, when some demonstrators were allegedly killed during the #EndBadGovernance protests across the country.

The group emphasized that those involved in the unlawful killing of peaceful protesters would be identified and held accountable at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for crimes against humanity.

HURIWA, in a statement signed by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, its National Coordinator, stated: “We are warning the military and police service chiefs, including the head of the nation’s secret police, that they may be held accountable at the ICC in The Hague for the unlawful killings of peaceful protesters in Nigeria, no matter how long it takes to achieve this objective by the organized civil rights community in Nigeria.”

HURIWA expressed shock at the silence of the international community, including the UN and global leaders like U.S. President Joe Biden and the Prime Ministers of the UK and Canada, in the face of the extrajudicial killings of peaceful protesters in Nigeria.

The group accused these leaders of “conspiratorial silence” and noted that the ongoing suppression of civic freedoms by armed security forces endangers Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.

The group reminded the UNHRC of its mandate to protect human rights defenders and ensure that member nations, such as Nigeria, which has signed various human rights treaties, respect and uphold constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms.