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| Photo Credit TheCable |
Report reaching us states that on Sunday, the IDPs staged a protest over the poor condition in their camp.
“They tagged it ‘return to Bama’ when their serial attempts to draw the attention of both state and federal government authorities failed to give prompt response to their needs, particularly in terms of food, shelter and education of their children after three years of hardship.”
They demanded to return to their respective communities in Bama local government.
Some of them were subsequently arrested by the police and arraigned in court, where they were remanded in prison.
The founder of The Counsellor Organization, Angela Uyi took to her Facebook page to lend her voice and demand for their immediate release.
Read her post below...
We Condemn and Demand that the Borno State Government to #FreeBamaIDPs and release the detainees forthwith and unconditionally.
Apathy is a crime against humanity.
The cruel intentions of the government to silence Bama youths and Activists is best described by Stephen King and in his words exemplified the injustice faced by activist and social media activists and their forceful arrest.
Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.
-Stephen King.
According to the Human Rights Committee of the UN, the freedom of opinion and freedom of expression are essential for any society as they are indispensable conditions for the full development of the person. They are necessary conditions for the realisation of the principles of transparency and accountability.
Freedom of expression is guaranteed for all persons under article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article of the African charter on Human and People’s Rights and section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
When the government create fear into its citizens, When We are denied the right to freedom by those We called government, the the people must come out peacefully to regain their freedom in one voice.
We must all condemn and demand Borno state government to #FreeBamaIDPs
It beats my imagination why government is using its machinery to intimidate, molest and terrorize innocent people especially the armless organizers of Return To Bama initiative.
They have been kept at the camp for more than two years and they requested to be returned home only for the state government to arrest, arraigned and remand them in prison. Same Governor Kashim Shettima complained that the IDPs are becoming a burden on his government. I could only ask one question, why arresting them instead of sending them back home? Or were they kept at the camp for political benefits?
Only a demonic leader would arrest the vulnerable just because they demands for a return.
You can't keep on keeping people in a camp against their will.
The government should be sympathetic with them and give them reasons why it is not yet safe for them to return to Bama and not placing them in a dark room just because they challenge the audacious impunity of the state government.
Shame on Borno state government and to every criminal leadership that think they have the audacious impunity to terrorize innocent protesters protesting to emancipate themselves and the others from political exigencies, the Continuing Suffering of the IDPs; The Poverty that has become a Permanent Resident with Majority of the internally displaced person's and the Confusing Hopelessness of their Collective Humanity.
Their arrests is a sin unto God and apathy is a crime against humanity.
Enough of tyranny approach in dealing with the people that brought him into power.
The arrest and detention of the Return to Bama activists without any iota of doubt is one of the political suicide committed by the present Borno State Government.
We wish to emphatically remind the government that "No Nigerian is more Nigerian than any Nigerian"
We therefore come together as a people to demand justice and Freedom for Return to Bama Youths and ask the government to stop future intention of forceful arrest of innocent citizens.
We are citizens and We should not be intimidated by the government who acquired high positions by the mandates of the people.
We wish to categorically without any fear of contradiction state that Borno State Governor cannot fight the goodwill of the people and he should not wage war against its citizens and to take note that Return to Bama organizers commit no offence under our constitutional democratic set up, hence, we demand their release forthwith and unconditionally.
The 1999 Constitution recognizes that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinion and to receive and impart ideas and information “without interference”.
The government has shown we the people that they are inhumane and care less about the citizens they governed.
On the foregoing, we therefore add our voice to the voice of others and call on the Inspector General of Police, Borno State commissioner of Police, Minister of justice, Attorney General of the Federation and Borno state governor Kashim Shettima to release the detainees forthwith and unconditionally.
If you do not condemn this act, I don't know who will be the next. It could me, It could be you, your sister, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother or your friend.
Join us to stop injustice before it stops us.
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