Alicia Keys, Greta Thunberg Among Those Urging Nigeria to Free Protestors

Notable Black Lives Matter activists, celebrities and politicians have come together to pen an open letter to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, demanding justice for those jailed for taking part in protests against military and police brutality earlier this year.

Opal Tometi, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter, was joined by 65 others, including singer Alicia Keys, actress Kerry Washington and climate activist Greta Thunberg in signing the open letter, which called for a ban on peaceful protests to be ended in order to ‘allow Nigerians to exercise their constitutional right to protest.’

The letter also asked Muhammadu Buhari to release the protestors and journalists that have been jailed for their part in the demonstrations, as well as for confiscated passports and government IDs to be returned, and bank accounts unfrozen.

“On this International Human Rights Day, as signatories of this public letter, we express our dismay and outrage at your administration’s violent response to the peaceful #EndSARS protests taking place across Nigeria in October,” the letter read.

“In the midst of a global pandemic, your people sought to bring peace and justice to their land, and they made Africa and its diaspora proud in doing so. Their actions reflect the dignity of the Ancestors and stand as a noble beacon of courage for future generations. For the first time in recent memory, the world witnessed Nigerians from all walks of life, ethnicities, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations and socioeconomic class, come together to make known the collective needs of the people.

“Yet their peaceful protests were met with state sanctioned violence and suppression, as your administration meted out unwarranted force against its own unarmed citizens. This blatant disregard for life was made most evident when the army shot and killed protestors on October 20, 2020 at the Lekki Toll Gate. We will never forget this date. We mourn the victims of the attack and grieve with our families,” the letter’s opening paragraph concluded.

Further down the letter President Buhari was personally called on to “follow the lead of your people. We urge you to heed the call not only for the rights enshrined in the United Nations International Declaration of Human Rights, but also those rights enshrined in the very constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The open letter was organized by Tometi and was timed to coincide with International Human Rights Day. Other notable signatories include actors Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo, as well as writers Reni Eddo-Lodge, Naomi Klein and Afua Hirsch.

Amnesty International says that 12 people were killed in the October 20 shooting, although the Nigerian army maintains that its soldiers were all firing blank bullets. The Nigerian government have set up a judicial panel in Lagos in order to investigate events at Lekki, as well as the activities of Sars.

Neutrality and justice have been promised by the panel but some protestors say that they still fear government retribution if they were to speak out. A number of activists have claimed that they have been targeted by the authorities, with some having had their bank accounts frozen by the Nigerian Central Bank and others being detained without charge, before being released eventually.

The protests gained a lot of attention on social media and a large number of well-followed Twitter accounts helped to place the protests in the mainstream media and alert others to the violence taking place in Nigeria.

“Many of the signatories to the letter are members of the African diaspora, including Opal Tometi, whose parents are Nigerian. She told the BBC she has friends and family in Nigeria, so this feels personal. She believes the international community needs to continue to apply pressure on the Nigerian government to deliver justice for victims of brutality by the armed forces,” Mayeni Jones, the BBC’s Nigerian correspondent, said.

“However, despite the big name endorsements, it’s unlikely the letter will lead to a change of tack from the Nigerian government.

“In the immediate aftermath of the Lekki tollgate shooting, public figures, including former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and President-elect Joe Biden, called on the Nigerian government to hold those accountable responsible,” she said.

“But the comments were brushed off by the authorities; and just this week President Buhari reiterated that any form of violent protest would not be tolerated.

“On Monday there was a heavy police presence around the tollgate following calls for a second phase of protests to begin. It seems the authorities are determined to stop a repeat of the scenes of widespread street protests across Nigeria in October.

“However stopping the #EndSARS social media campaign will not be so easy. Young Nigerians have seen how much influence they can yield – this letter is evidence of that,” Jones continued.
“The fact that young people are re-strategizing, going back to the drawing board and looking for several ways to get our voices to be heard does not mean that they have stopped protesting.”