*Wants Tinubu to address Nigerians
As protests against hardship and bad governance entered its second day on Friday, a senior lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), has urged protesters to end the ongoing protest without further delay and embrace dialogue to prevent further loss of lives and property.
Adegboruwa, who is also the lawyer to one of the organisers of the protests- Take It Back Movement- stated this in a statement he personally signed and made available to TheIdeal News on Friday.
The Senior Advocate added that though the intention of the organizers was to achieve peaceful and well-coordinated protests, he stated that fifth columnists and some angry persons infiltrated the ranks of the protesters to derail their laudable mission.
On the loss of lives arising from the protests, Adegboruwa said, “I have read about the death of some security personnel and also some protesters. I also heard about losses of property and other valuables. This certainly was not the goal of the protests, given all the efforts made by the organizers to work with the security and law enforcement agencies to achieve peace and orderliness.
“i hereby express my sincere condolences to the employers and families of the security personnel and also to the protesters, praying to God to comfort them and to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.”
Adegboruwa further commended the protesters
In various locations in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Ibadan, Benin City and others, saying that the protesters have been largely peaceful and orderly.
He also commend the protesters for their peaceful conduct and respect for law and order, saying that in some locations, the protesters teamed up with the security forces to observe the Friday Jumat service at the venue of the protests.
The Senior Advocate further disclosed that the notice of the protest was given to President Bola Tinubu many weeks ago, saying that nothing was done by the President to engage the organizers of the protests in order to address the issues raised in their charter of demands.
According to Adegboruwa, it is the same way that the government ignores several strike notices issued by the Labour unions until they eventually snowball into strikes, saying that the development should not be so.
Calling on Tinubu to address the nation over the matter, Adegboruwa said, “I therefore call upon President Bola Tinubu to directly address the nation and then engage the protesters, through their representatives.
“ Thereafter, the government should set up a Committee comprising men and women of integrity to meet with the protesters to address the issues that they have raised.”
Advising the protesters to call off the protests and leave the streets, Adegboruwa said, “ I appeal to the protesters to withdraw themselves from their various protest grounds and to suspend the protests immediately and indefinitely, in order to give room for meaningful dialogue and engagement with the government.
“Given that the protests were said to have been hijacked by sponsored agents, it is necessary to avoid further losses and casualties.
“The organizers of the protests and their representatives should embrace dialogue with the government.”
Concluding his message, Adegboruwa said, “I commend the people of Nigeria who trooped out in their large numbers to join the protests and those who stayed at home in solidarity by way of peaceful civil disobedience.
“No leader should ever take the people for granted. In the peculiar circumstance of the hunger and hardship being experienced by our people across the land, the protests were more than justified.”
