ON June 12, men of the Department of State Services (DSS) stopped a rally by the Yoruba Summit Group in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. They arrested three persons among the organisers of the event and took them to the state headquarters of the DSS at Aleshinloye, Ibadan. Similarly, the DSS on the same day arrested some social media users for allegedly posting “inciting materials and misleading statements.”Peter Afunanya, DSS public relations officer, announced the arrest of the social media users in a statement. These clampdowns on citizens do not reflect the fact that Nigeria is under democratic rule where fundamental human rights are sacrosanct. We also call on civil society groups, especially the human rights groups, to beam their searchlight on these issues and bring it to the attention of the National Human Rights Commission and the courts.

Source: Nigerian Tribune June 27, 2019 00:33 UTC