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View Anita Vandenbeld Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you very much, and I want to thank you for being here, Mr. Imahiagbe. I understand that you are actually a teacher at a school in my riding of Ottawa West-Nepean at St. Paul's. I wanted to thank you again for the work you do there and also for being here as a witness.
I heard your testimony. You talked about systemic problems, about institutional overhaul. Our understanding from the previous witnesses is that there's been a real deterioration since the 20th of October, since the protesters were so violently repressed and we were starting to see more arrests.
Could you say that the situation is deteriorating at the moment in terms of freedom of expression, in terms of civil society and human rights defenders? If there's been a real deterioration recently, what can be done immediately to try to bring that public space back so that those institutions can then be, as you put it, overhauled?
Chukwuyem Imahiagbe
View Chukwuyem Imahiagbe Profile
Chukwuyem Imahiagbe
2020-11-19 18:48
Thank you very much for that question.
Yes, I'm a vice-principal at St. Paul, within your riding.
Since the incident of the shooting, there has been an escalated attempt to forcibly arrest and detain those who are seen as leaders of the protest, and in some places, as I said earlier, to freeze their bank accounts.
An atmosphere of fear has been created, and most of the leaders have gone into hiding. Some of them have fled the country in order to save themselves, because they need to be alive to be able to push for change to happen.
What can be done? An immediate response from peace-loving countries like Canada is urgently needed to put pressure on the Government of Nigeria. The response to peaceful protesters asking for change, asking for better governance, is not to perpetuate more violence against those who have put their lives at risk to call for change in the country.
View Anita Vandenbeld Profile
Lib. (ON)
To what extent do social media play a role in this?
I know that there's an “end SARS” hashtag, and there are certain videos about what the government has done that have gone viral.
Is there a role for social media in amplifying those voices and for communicating, and to what extent is there freedom within Nigeria for people to be able to spread this information through social media?
Chukwuyem Imahiagbe
View Chukwuyem Imahiagbe Profile
Chukwuyem Imahiagbe
2020-11-19 18:49
As far as I know, social media have played a significant role in helping bring to light the reality of what is happening in Nigeria, but there have been TV news clips of the Minister of Information looking at how social media can be banned or gagged in Nigeria.
This is in line with what we have always seen when citizens call for better governance. There's always a clamp-down to create an atmosphere of fear so that when they get on their own, then the movement is squashed. That is the tactic that we're continuing to see, sadly. We hope that the international community can quickly put out strong statements and actions to remind the government of its commitment to human rights.
To add to that, Nigeria is a signatory of the African Charter on Human Rights and People's Rights, and also of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which places obligations on Nigeria to not only promote but protect human rights in Nigeria. A strong reminder and the consequences of not following through on those commitments, I think, would be a very good start.
Results: 1 - 4 of 4

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