By Atoyebi Nike
Civil rights lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi has accused the Nigerian state of fearing accountability and the rule of law more than armed groups terrorising citizens.
Farotimi made the remarks on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Tuesday, while reacting to Monday’s protest in Abuja demanding the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu. The protest was led by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.
Farotimi criticised what he described as the state’s “hostility toward peaceful citizens” while showing tolerance to violent actors such as bandits and terrorists.
“On October 20, 2020, Nigerians were protesting peacefully, waving flags and singing the national anthem. They were murdered in cold blood. That is the response of the Nigerian state to those demanding to be treated as citizens,” he said.
He said the #EndSARS protests were a response to years of police brutality under the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), calling it the “brutal arm” of the government used to enforce impunity. According to him, rather than address citizens’ legitimate grievances, authorities responded with state-sponsored violence.
Farotimi further accused the Nigerian Police of using excessive force against activists like Sowore while remaining silent over killings by armed groups.
“When you look at how the same Nigerian state treats bandits, terrorists, and Fulani militia murdering Nigerians in full view of everyone, you see complicit silence by the state,” he said. “The Nigerian state is scared of being subjected to the rule of law and being accountable to its victims.”
The activist lamented that the state routinely punishes dissent rather than crime, citing the ongoing detention of Chinedu Agu, allegedly arrested for criticising a governor.
“Those who need to be afraid of the Nigerian state are those demanding to be treated as citizens and as human beings. But those who go around marauding and killing Nigerians, regardless of their ethnicity or religion, the state has no problem with them,” he added.
Farotimi also criticised the government’s policy of reintegrating “repentant terrorists”, saying that it rewards perpetrators while punishing law-abiding citizens.
“We have the most successful deradicalisation programme in the world. But in Nigeria, those who demand to be treated decently as human beings governed by law are serially assaulted and murdered,” he said.
His remarks came as Omoyele Sowore accused security forces of opening fire on peaceful protesters during Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanu rally in Abuja. Sowore said police operatives arrested several people, including Kanu’s brother and lawyer, who were allegedly beaten before being taken to the FCT Police Command.
Reacting to the development, Force Public Relations Officer Benjamin Hundeyin said the police acted in line with a Federal High Court order restricting protests around sensitive areas, including Aso Rock Villa, National Assembly, Force Headquarters, Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way.
The incident has reignited debates about freedom of assembly, state accountability, and citizens’ rights in Nigeria five years after the #EndSARS protests first exposed deep-rooted distrust between the government and the governed.
