The Alliance for Survival of COVID-19 and Beyond, (ASCAB) chaired by foremost human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has said that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai or any of his men risk facing the International Criminal Court, (ICC) in the Hague if any of the #ENDSARs protesters is killed.
The coalition of labour and civil society groups spoke yesterday against the backdrop of plan by the military to deploy its officers to quell the nationwide protests.
“The plan to deploy soldiers is dangerous. It will push Nigeria into the red light district of global reckoning,” the coalition said.
Falana in a statement urged the Federal Government to withdraw plans to use soldiers to quell the protests that have rocked major cities across Nigeria.
He specifically asked President Mohammadu Buhari not to invite soldiers to resolve “a purely democratic issue that calls for dialogue and constructive engagement.”
Meanwhile, any attempt to deploy soldiers against the on-going protest is treason against the people, Pan Yoruba and Igbo groups have warned.
The two groups, Yoruba One Voice and Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, (IPOB) said the planned deployment of soldiers to quell the #ENDSARs protesters is a conscious attempt to bring down the pillars of democracy in Nigeria.
In a joint statement, the groups told President Muhammadu Buhari that the use of soldiers represents an act of treason.
The groups recalled that this was exactly what happened in 1983 when people rose against President Shehu Shagari when the military ambushed the democratic experience which produce the same Buhari as the military Head of State.
They spoke in a statement signed by Director of Communication, Yoruba Voice l, Zacheus Somorin and IPOB’s Principal Secretary, Ms. Christy Ekama.
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