The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urgently appealed to global leaders, including the United Nations, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, to take decisive action to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy.
This call for international intervention comes in the wake of the arrest of Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport. The arrest has prompted significant concern from HURIWA regarding the state of democratic freedoms in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Monday, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged President Joe Biden of the US, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to address the “rapidly deteriorating democratic standards in Nigeria.”
The rights group criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration for allegedly undermining democratic freedoms and seeking to establish a form of dictatorship contrary to the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which the current administration vowed to uphold. HURIWA condemned the frequent harassment and arrests of prominent human rights defenders, media personnel, and trade union leaders, particularly targeting Ajaero due to the NLC’s resistance to being co-opted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
HURIWA also denounced the government’s recent economic policies, which they argue have led to widespread poverty, inadequate salaries for public workers, high unemployment, rampant inflation, and severe corruption. The group has called for an immediate halt to the coordinated attacks on the NLC, human rights activists, and media practitioners to protect Nigeria’s constitutional principles.
The organization warned against continued intimidation and harassment, urging civil society groups and activists to support the NLC’s leadership. They emphasize that human rights and trade union activism are fundamental rights and should not be criminalized. The group is calling for an end to these oppressive tactics and a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to democratic values.
