Running against the grains of the statutory provisions for both the Freedom of Speech and Association, as clearly enshrined in Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) respectively, is the recurring ugly decimal of police brutality meted out to peaceful protesters in the country, Nigeria.

The recent incidents related to this anomaly was that of some members of the Nigerian police spraying toxic tear gas to disperse some Nigerians during the protests in Abuja and Port Harcourt by some disgruntled youth, as coordinated by the Juwon Sanyaolu-led ‘Take-It-Back-Movement’.

That was on Monday, April 7, 2025. According to several media reports the reasons for the protests include the outrage of the young Nigerians against the Cybercrime Act, the Rivers state political crisis which led to the unconstitutional suspension of Governor Simi Fubara by President Bola Tinubu and of course, police oppression.

While similar protests went on unhindered in Lagos, Ibadan and Benin the ones at Abuja and Port Harcourt were disrupted by fully armed security operatives.

With regards to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja the protests coincided with the celebration of the National Police Day similarly scheduled to take place at the Eagles Square, Abuja, where the protesters were heading to.

So, the police had to cordon it off, blocking several roads leading to it. This led to traffic gridlock, with many civil servants asked to leave their vehicles and trek to their offices.

Such a disturbing situation exacerbated the restiveness of the young protesters led by the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore and his colleague, Deji Adeyanju.

With placards bearing such words as: “Stop the Repression” and “Let us breathe”, the message of dissatisfaction with the Tinubuled government of the day should be clear enough.

But the police cut their journeys short by dispersing them with teargas And it was a similar scenario in Port Harcourt when the protesters made up of Civil Society Organizations and the Niger-Delta Congress met stiff resistance at Isaac Boro Park from policemen armed to the teeth.

They were however, still actively engaged in singing songs of solidarity but had to disperse at the popular CFC junction as the anti-riot policemen sprayed teargas.

Furthermore, the police and all other security agencies need a new reorientation on how to handle peaceful protests, to avoid aggravating an already dire situation of the people’s growing anger in the land

Though the Nigeria Police, through the state Commissioners of the federal government security agency, is always ready to offer the excuse of dispersing the protests so that they would not be hijacked by hoodlums, it should be reminded of Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution.

For instance, the former states clearly that every citizen is “entitled to freedom of expression, the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information, without interference”.

And Section 40 explains that: “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons and in particular he may form, or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests.”

But going by the way and manner several previous and present protests have been handled by the police, the wrong notion has been passed to the citizens that the police is there only to protect the whims, caprices, and idiosyncrasies of the political elite. This is a wrong signal, more so under a democratic dispensation.

And that is because if people are not allowed, or even encouraged to air their candid opinions as well as express their grievances, it leads to pent-up anger which could escalate to mass uprising. To prevent such a scary situation our current crop of political leaders learn from the unfailing hands of history.

They should be reminded that right from the Roman, the Byzantine, the Othman and the Russian Empires across to the old African Empires of Mali, Aksum, Kush to the Songhai, Bornu, Benin and Oyo, no leader has ever succeeded in enjoying the love of his people by force, fiat or instituting fearfuelling policies.

Not at all! Rather, love as the connecting chord between the leaders and the led majority is cultivated by keying into the significant element of trust.

When the promises of the provision of people-oriented policies aimed at solving their most pressing needs, as made by the candidates during the campaign periods are fulfilled it engenders love and a harmonious relationship between the two.

But when the leaders turn deaf ears to the people’s cries and don on the garb of the leader is always right and must not be criticized it triggers acrimony.

government is therefore, well admonished to embrace open mindedness in tackling the myriad of social, economic and political challenges currently facing the nation.

And truth be told, the voice of the protesters provide the opportunity for the government to understand the impact of its policies on the led majority, as they are the voice of the people.

Furthermore, the police and all other security agencies need a new reorientation on how to handle peaceful protests, to avoid aggravating an already dire situation of the people’s growing anger in the land. (New Telegraph Editorial)