Amnesty International has cautioned President Bola Tinubu’s administration against threatening Nigerians who are planning to protest against the current hardship and hunger in the country.

The global human rights body emphasized that threatening intended peaceful protesters is unlawful, adding that Nigerians have the constitutional right to protest.

According to reports, some youths plan a nationwide protest between August 1 and 15 to express their concerns over the rising cost of living and economic hardship.

Following these reports, President Tinubu’s media aide, Dada Olusegun, warned that the intending protesters would face the strongest resistance if they protested against the Nigerian government.

In a post via X, Olusegun stated that those who gave Tinubu the mandate to rule the country would strongly resist the protest. He tweeted, “Those who want to burn the country down under whatever guise will meet the strongest resistance of their lives. Not from security agencies but from the silent majority that gave their mandate to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for four years in the first instance. We are waiting.”

Amnesty International responded by stating that threatening peaceful protesters is not only unlawful but also a clear attack on freedom of assembly, as guaranteed by international law and Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.

“Threatening peaceful protesters is unlawful. It is a clear attack on freedom of assembly, guaranteed by international law and Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution. Nigerians must not be denied the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to peaceful protest through veiled threats of violence and false insinuations,” Amnesty International stated.

Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has responded to the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over the threat of ₦ 5 billion defamation suit.

Recall that Peter Obi issued Onanuga a 72-hour ultimatum to apologise and pay ₦5 billion damages to him over defamation and libel or face legal action.

The demand follows Onanuga’s wild allegation, linking Peter Obi to the planned mass protest scheduled for August.

Recall that the Presidential Spokesperson had on July 20, 2024, in a post via his X handle, said, “Peter Ob’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria and that Obi should be held responsible for anarchy.”

However, the former Governor of Anambra State, writing through his counsel, Alex Ejesieme, SAN, said that the allegation, which was widely published in social and mainstream media and read by many within and outside the country, maligned his hard-earned reputation as a man who indulges in violence when all his antecedents are vivid that he abhors violence even in the face of extreme provocation.

Peter Obi said the demeaning and scandalous publication also caused a severe emotional injury to him, given his decades of stellar stewardship in private and public life.

In response, Onanuga, in a post via his X handle on Tuesday, said he is not afraid of any legal action and is ready to meet Peter Obi in court.

He wrote, “I am still waiting for the letter from Peter Obi’s lawyer threatening a N5 billion suit and demanding an apology to Peter Obi over the planned ‘revolution’.

“Let me just tell Obi and his lawyer: I am not afraid of any legal action. We shall meet in court.”

The family of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba aka Mohbad, has conducted a fresh autopsy seeking to determine the cause of his death.

PUNCH Metro reported that the Magistrate of the Coroner Court sitting in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, T.A. Shotobi, on June 26, granted an order to the father of the deceased, Mr. Joseph Aloba, to engage a licensed and certified pathologist for a completely independent autopsy on the late singer.

The court also ordered that the applicant, Aloba, should bear all costs associated with the examination, evaluation, and autopsy.

A member of the family’s legal team, Monisola Odumosu, in a statement on Tuesday, said the autopsy was conducted on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20.

Odumosu noted that the family would proceed to carry out toxicology and histology tests on the necessary samples already obtained if the post-mortem procedure failed to reveal the cause of death.

“The second autopsy as requested by the Aloba family and ordered by the Magistrate of the Coroner Court, Ms. T.A. Shotobi, was conducted on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20, 2024. This autopsy is a two-part exercise, with the first part now completed.

“If the cause of death cannot be determined from this initial examination, the second part will proceed, involving a toxicology and histology test on the necessary samples already obtained,” the statement read in part.

The legal team further disclosed that the procedure was witnessed by Mohbad’s father and two separate pathologists appointed by him and Mohbad’s wife, Wunmi.

“This comprehensive procedure, conducted last Friday, was witnessed only by Mr. Joseph Aloba, the forensic pathologist appointed by Mr. Joseph Aloba and his team, legal representatives of both Mr. Joseph Aloba and  a pathologist appointed by Wunmi Aloba to observe the procedure,” the statement added.

Mohbad died at the age of 27, on September 12, 2023, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking controversies on social media.

Being a former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, Mohbad left the label in February 2022. The Lagos State Police Command had on September 18, 2023, inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe the singer’s death.

His death also led to the arrest of Naira Marley and controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, amongst others.

The singer’s body was on September 21, 2023, exhumed for autopsy to unravel the cause of his death.

However, a pathologist, while testifying before the Coroner’s Court on May 15, revealed that an autopsy couldn’t determine Mohbad’s cause of death due to the decomposition of his body.

Following the disclosure, PUNCH Metro exclusively reported that the US-based lab refuted the claim by the Lagos State Government that the toxicology test was conducted at its facility.

The revelation was in response to inquiries made by our correspondent, who embarked on a fact-finding mission to ascertain the musician’s cause of death.

Responding to PUNCH Metro’s inquiry on May 17, the Client Services Associate, Forensics Division, NMS Labs, Esther Dede, stated, “Unfortunately, we do not have a case for that patient.”

The house of representatives has asked the federal government to suspend Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), over “unguarded comments”.

The lower legislative chamber passed the resolution during plenary session on Tuesday following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Esosa Iyawe from Edo.

The motion was titled ‘Urgent Need to Address the Outrage Resulting from Unguarded Comments by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority’.

The NMDPRA and Dangote refinery have been embroiled in a dispute that began recently.

On July 18, Ahmed said local refineries, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, were producing inferior products compared to the ones imported into the country.

He also said Dangote requested all importation of petroleum products — especially automotive gas oil (AGO) or jet kero — be suspended or stopped, and all oil marketers be directed to his refinery.

This, Ahmed said, is not good for Nigeria in terms of energy security and also not good for markets because of monopoly.

Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Group, denied Ahmed’s claims.

On Monday, Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state petroleum resources (oil), met with Dangote, Ahmed, Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and Mele Kyari, group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, to resolve the matter. 

The house of representatives joint committee on petroleum resources (downstream and midstream) has also launched a probe into Ahmed’s claims.

The committee is also investigating the allegations that international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria are frustrating the survival of the Dangote refinery.

‘CARELESS STATEMENT, UNPROFESSIONAL’

Moving the motion, Iyawe described Ahmed’s statement as “careless,” as well as “unprofessional and unpatriotic” in the wake of calls for protest against the federal government.

Iyawe said Ahmed made the statement without conducting any prior investigation.

The lawmaker said the “unguarded statement” by the NMDPRA CEO has “sparked outrage from Nigerians who tagged his undermining of local refineries and insistence on the continued importation of fuel an act of economic sabotage, as the imported products have been shown to contain high levels of dangerous compounds”.

The motion was adopted when it was put to a voice vote by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house.

Consequently, the lower chamber asked the federal government to suspend the NMDPRA CEO pending the conclusion of the investigations into the claims.

President Bola Tinubu has pleaded with aggrieved Nigerians, especially youths planning a national protest over the high cost of living to shelve the action, saying there is no need for it. 

The President also assured those behind the planned protest that he has heard their grievances and is working seriously to ensure that all their concerns are addressed.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, conveyed the President’s plea while speaking with State House correspondents after he met with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The President’s assurance came as the face-off between Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayou Onanuga; and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, took a new twist, yesterday.

Obi’s lawyers, yesterday, wrote Onanuga, demanding N5 billion and an apology within 72 hours for accusing him and his supporters of high treason in allegedly being masterminds of the planned “EndBadGovernance protest.”

In like manner, former presidential aspirant and a chieftain of the LP, Professor Pat Utomi, challenged Onanuga to produce evidence of his involvement in the planned protest or face N500 billion litigation.

Tinubu’s assurance

The minister said that at the meeting with the President, general issues on the country were discussed and that the President said he is working assiduously to ensure the country’s economy is placed in a good position.

His words: ‘’We discussed the issue of the country in general and Mr President has asked me to again inform Nigerians that he listens to them, especially the young people that are trying to protest.

“Mr President said he listens to them and takes what they say seriously and he is working assiduously to ensure that this country is good not just for today, but also for the future.

“The issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that, he asked them to shelve that plan and he has asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas, he has listened to them.’’

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar has condemned attempts by the federal government and security agencies to scuttle the nationwide protests planned to take place from August 1.

Vanguard reports that plans are in motion to stage nationwide protests against bad governance, the current economic hardship, and a range of issues.

Taking to his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, the 2023 presidential candidate under the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, expressed concern that even supporters of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC are not left out of the hardship.

He wondered why President Tinubu and some key figures who were part of the nationwide protest against the Goodluck Jonathan government in 2012 were attempting to stop the planned protests.

He wrote, “For the avoidance of doubt, the rights of citizens to protest are ENSHRINED in the Nigerian Constitution and AFFIRMED by our courts. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as altered) unequivocally guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and association.

“Chasing shadows and contriving purported persons behind the planned protests is an exercise in futility when it is obvious that Nigerians, including supporters of Tinubu and the ruling APC, are caught up in the hunger, anger, and hopelessness brought about by the incompetence and cluelessness of this government.

“It is deeply ironic that those who now seek to stifle these rights were themselves leading protests in 2012. A responsible government must ensure a SAFE and SECURE environment for citizens to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to PEACEFUL PROTEST.

“Any attempt to suppress these rights is not only unconstitutional but a direct affront to our democracy,” he said.

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, to retract his alleged defamatory statement against him.

Onanuga had alleged that supporters of Obi are behind the proposed nationwide protest against economic hardship in the country.

In a letter by Alex Ejesieme, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Obi’s lawyer, the former governor of Anambra is also asking Onanuga to tender a public apology published in four national newspapers over the “widespread defamation and libel” or face legal action.

Obi is demanding N5 billion in damages from Onanuga.

There have been reports of a youth-led nationwide protest over the rising cost of living and economic hardship.

The protest is reportedly slated for August 1 to 15.

Onanuga further alleged that the organisers of the planned protest were the same individuals who “hijacked” the #ENDSARS protest of 2020.

“Obi should be held responsible for anarchy. Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action,” Onanuga had written on X.

However, Obi said the allegation, which went viral on social and mainstream media and was read by many within and outside the country, maligned his hard-earned reputation.

He added that the allegation dented his image as “a man who indulges in violence”.

“It’s our client’s conviction that the publication was a calculated plot to demean, ridicule, humiliate, and embarrass him by the estimation of every right-thinking member of the society,” the letter reads.

“His appellation as ‘Okwute’ (the Rock) notwithstanding, the demeaning and scandalous publication has also caused a serious emotional injury to our client given his decades of stellar stewardship in private and public life.

“Consequently, we have our client’s mandate to demand that you retract the statement made in the publication and tender an unreserved apology to him within 72 hours of the receipt of this letter in not less than 4 National Dailies to wit: Vanguard, THISDAY, Punch, and TheCable, including your verified X“@aonanuga1956.

“Our client is also making an unequivocal demand for the monetary damage of N5b for the embarrassment your defamatory publication has caused him and his family.

“In the event of your failure to meet the demands set out above, our client shall be constrained to approach a Court of Competent jurisdiction and take legal action against you for defamation and libel.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says inflation is pushing Nigerians into different categories of poverty.

Cardoso said controlling inflation is in the best interest of Nigerians.

He spoke on Tuesday during a press briefing at the end of the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

The governor highlighted the significant impact of inflation on the economy, saying purchasing power has diminished and poverty levels have increased.

Cardoso stressed the importance of taming inflation for the average individual and the organised private sector, which faces its own consequences.

He also acknowledged the need for economic growth and the challenges posed by high interest rates imposed to control inflation and ensure the economy’s long-term stability.

“I think I will just say one or two things and these are some of the things that we discuss with the organised private sector that inflation really and truly is having a major impact on our economy,” Cardoso said.

“Purchasing power is getting eroded, people are being pushed into different categories of poverty, and it is in their own interest that we are able to tame the scourge of inflation. If not, the ramifications will also be for them.

“It is not on the average man alone, it will also be for them and we understand the need for growth and we also understand that it is relatively challenging when you have high interest rates.

“My belief is that it is so fundamental to the long-term future and stability of our economy, that inflation should be brought under control.”

According to Cardoso, these short-term pains will eventually benefit the economy and the manufacturing sector.

Speaking on the current economic situation, the CBN governor said the influx of liquidity into the system over a short period played a significant role.

He said the consequences of printing money through ways and means advances are being felt, leading to an out-of-control money supply trajectory.

Cardoso said in response to this, interest rates are being raised to manage the money supply and prevent further spikes.

On Tuesday, MPC raised the monetary policy rate (MPR), which benchmarks interest rates, to 26.75 percent — from 26.25 percent.

Last week, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 34.19 percent amid the surge in food prices.

Speaking further, Cardoso said MPC voted to hike the rate by 50 basis points to 26.75 percent, adjust the asymmetric corridor to +500 and -100 basis points around the MPR.

The committee retained the cash reserve ratio (CRR) at 45 percent, and liquidity ratio at 30 percent.

Some social media users have dug out old posts by Olusegun Dada, the special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on social media, in which he called for protests against former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Dada’s old posts started trending on social media, moments after he said protesters would face the “strongest resistance”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Dada, in a post on X, said protesters would meet fierce pushback from supporters of the president.

“Those who want to burn the country down under whatever guise will meet the strongest resistance of their lives,” Dada wrote.

“Not from security agencies, but from the silent majority that gave their mandate to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for four years in the first instance. We are waiting.”

There have been reports of a planned youth-led nationwide protest over the rising cost of living and economic hardship.

The protest is reportedly slated for August 1 to 15. 

Several old X posts of Dada show that the presidential aide was in support of the protest against Jonathan’s administration.

In one of his posts in January 2012, Dada wrote,

“If u know any policeman, advise him not to take shooting orders from anyone. If anyone is shot during our protest, d killer dies! No”.

In another post in February 2014, he wrote,

“maybe we don’t need peaceful protests anymore”.

Dada’s old posts have elicited a plethora of reactions.

The United Nations (UN) department of safety and security has warned that the planned protests in Nigeria may be hijacked by groups with ulterior motives.

Recent reports indicate that various Nigerian groups are planning a nationwide protest from August 1 to 10, dubbed “10 days of rage,” to address the country’s soaring cost of living and economic hardship.

In a threat and risk assessment finding dated July 19, the UN expressed concerns about the possibility of violence, citing past instances where similar protests in Nigeria escalated.

“Recall that in the 13–16 February 2023 interval, tensions generated by the paucity of new Naira currency (financial crisis) reached high levels amongst the civilian population, which materialized in violent protests in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria, in the states of Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, and Rivers,” the threat and risk assessment reads.

“During the civil unrest in the different states, several bank branches and ATM points were vandalized, and major roads were blocked.

“As the turnout for the ’10 days of rage’ protest is expected to be high, large-scale disruptions to normal economic and social activities cannot be discounted.”

The threat assessment also showed that confrontations between groups supporting the government and those disagreeing with its policies cannot be ruled out from the end of July towards August 10-15.

“While acknowledging the economic hardship in the country, some organizations and leaders of ethnic groups (especially in South-South and South-East) were discouraging participation in any of the 1-10 August protests (E.g. Ọhanaeze Ndigbo, a socio-cultural organization in Nigeria, claiming to represent the interests of all Igbos),” the UN said.

“This highlights the possibility of the events being hijacked by other interest groups/detractors, thus complicating the security landscape of different areas.”

Those calling for the protests are asking for a reverse of some policies implemented by President Bola Tinubu believed to have engendered hardship in the country.

Some of the demands include the reinstatement of petrol and tertiary education subsidies, restoring affordable electricity tariffs, and reducing import duties to previous values established before the economic crisis.

Others are declaring a state of emergency on inflation, more transparency in public administration, publicly disclosing and reducing the salaries and allowances of political office holders, and reforms to the judicial system.

In a statement addressed to Tinubu, Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said it would be hard to prevent Nigerians from expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s policies.