The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights has raised an alarm over the Nigerian Police’s invasion of its national headquarters, Rights House, in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the Vanguard, the Police on Friday laid siege on the Rights House, the national headquarters of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights.
A statement by CDHR National President, Comrade Debo Adeniran, and National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Idris Olayinka, revealed that police officers, arriving in several Hilux vans, blocked the entrance to the Rights House, thereby stopping the scheduled Education Rights Campaign Symposium from taking place in the main hall of the CDHR office.
“We observed the police laying siege to the CDHR National Headquarters, Rights House, preventing participants from holding the program,” the statement read.
The CDHR leadership condemned the police action, calling on the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Police Commissioner to intervene and put an end to the disruption. They argued that the police blockade constitutes a violation of the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech.
“We use this medium to urge the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Police Commissioner to call these officers to order.
“Otherwise, it will amount to a gross violation of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech,” the statement concluded.
