Christian Leaders in Nigeria Condemn Use of Violence on “unarmed, peaceful protesters”

The Local Ordinary of Lagos calls on members of the security forces in Nigeria to “stop the assault on armed and peaceful people.”

He further addresses the demonstrators and asks them to retreat from the protests saying, “He who fights and retreats, lives to fight another day.” 

On their part, officials of the Jesuits of North-West Africa Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) have condemned the excessive use of force on the protesters.

In the October 20 statement, they acknowledge “with great concerns, the poor handling of the youth-led #EndSARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) protest across cities and towns of Nigeria by the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police Force.” 

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, any use of force and intimidation by security personnel against the youth,” they say in their collective statement signed by the Director of Communications, Fr. Chijioke Azuawusiefe.

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Peaceful protests are “a fundamental right of every Nigerian,” the Jesuits in North-West Africa declare say, declaring their “solidarity with the youth of Nigeria.”

They urge “the Federal Government to take the demands of the youth seriously and to respond through concrete, accountable, and measurable actions.”

“As an institution rooted in the Catholic tradition of faith and hope, we recommit ourselves to engendering the processes of justice everywhere in the world and especially those that the young people of Nigeria currently challenge us to embrace, processes without which our prosperous and peaceful future as a country remains unattainable,” they say in conclusion.

On their part, members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have called on the officials of Nigeria’s security forces not to intervene in the ongoing protests to avoid killings. 

“We call on the military and police to resist the temptation to intervene in a civil protest in order to avoid harvest of deaths,” the Church leaders have been quoted as saying. 

The Christian leaders also condemn “in strong terms every attempt being made to stop or disrupt the peaceful protest, which is lawfully allowed and guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

The Church leaders, who had earlier issued a statement supporting the protests reiterate,  “We are monitoring the #EndSARS protests nationwide and we are praying that their unprecedented efforts to have a decent society will not be in vain.”

The members of CAN call on all State Governors and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (MCT) to “set up a committee to dialogue with the representatives of the protesters to douse the tension in the country.”

In a message shared with ACI Africa, members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) have condemned the “height of the government insensitivity and callousness in the shooting of unarmed youths in Lagos yesterday night in a well-orchestrated manner.”

“The Bishops of Nigeria condemn this act as barbaric and totally unacceptable and are soon to come out with a full statement on the matter,” says the Bishops in the October 21 note issued on their behalf by the Director of Communication at CBCN, Fr. Michael Umoh.

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Earlier, the members of CBCN had expressed their support for the ongoing protests and urged the protesters to remain peaceful. 

“We support the youths who have taken this step and we caution that they are allowed without any intimidation to exercise their right to peaceful demonstration and should not be provoked or incited to violence,” said the members of CBCN in the October 17 message.

They further said, the youth are asserting their constitutional right by demanding for justice and peace for all from “extra-judicial killings, unlawful arrests, profiling of youths as criminals, the invasion of youths privacy by searching phones and laptops without any warrant or any just cause, and the incarceration of many of the youths in the SARS custody without trial.”

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.