The spectre of a police state

On the 1st of July 2020, a group of thirty eminent Nigerians formed a new political movement, the National Consultative Front (NCF), “aimed at driving reforms” in the country.

Former Speaker of House of Representatives and co-chair of NCF, Alhaji Ghali Umar Na’abba, recently granted an interview to Channels TV, where he spoke about their plans to bring about a new Nigeria that works for all.

The CNG expressed concern when Alhaji Na’abba was thereafter invited by the Department of State Security (DSS) over the views he expressed during the interview.

They stated that “it is worrisome that the current administration is becoming more intolerant of opposition and criticism and gradually dragging the country towards becoming a police state”.

For some context, the former Speaker of the House, had on different platforms, accused President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of turning Nigeria into a failed state.

He had described the president as an irresponsive and incompetent leader. The DSS issued a statement recently alerting the nation that some notable persons, in the guise of political mobilisation, were orchestrating a breakdown of law and order.

Unfortunately, no evidence was provided to back this claim. They also mentioned that these personalities planned to engage in divisive acts and use inciting statements to pit one group against another.

The DSS affirmed that in line with their mandate of detecting and preventing threats and crimes against Nigeria, they would combat such persons for creating tension in the country.

However, it is unclear what kind of action or speech is legally deemed to be a threat to internal security.

More recently, another government agency, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) released an amended 6th edition of the NBC Code which had as one of its notable revisions, a 1000% increase in the fine against hate speech; without a clear definition as to what constitutes hate speech.

Though democracy is practised differently in various countries, globally, it generally allows for the freedom of expression and speech. Suppressing that in any way is a perversion of democratic culture.

In Nigeria, the freedom of expression is protected by section 39 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This right is also guaranteed under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.

In recent times, there has also been growing recognition within the law about “the right to protest” being a fundamental human right along with the “right to gather” or “join a group”.

So, a situation where the interpretation of individual opinions or group gatherings is left to the whims and caprices of government and treated negatively suggests a descent into a police state.

According to the rule of law, if anyone commits an offence, the proper line of action is to charge the person to court and let the court decide.

A scenario where state security agencies indiscriminately summon citizens for questioning about views expressed, do not seem to follow this rule of law.

Indeed, the right to freedom of expression is not independent of other rights. Some other laws may seem to conflict with this; one of which is the law of defamation and sedition.

While we advocate that responsible citizens should avoid ethnoreligious, political, or morally incorrect statements that may incite the public, we also know that the courts play a critical role in balancing and interpreting these laws and should, therefore, provide guidance where there are conflicting interests.

The state can moderate this without clamping down on free speech or embarking on actions that will inadvertently lead to silencing free speech.

In any case, clamping down on views usually tends to be unbalanced. For example, in this same country, we have had a group like the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) proclaim the creation of their security outfits across the nation and yet were not summoned by the DSS for questioning.

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In a truly democratic culture, all parties should be allowed to speak freely and express their views. If any law is broken, then such parties should be charged to the courts of law.

It is a fundamental breach of basic freedoms and democratic culture for the government to exercise its powers wrongfully through agencies, codes, and actions that restrict or clamp down on citizens’ rights, speech, mobility, and freedom.

Finally, we remind all parties concerned about the dangers of a police state. These include – repelling foreign investors, suppressing creativity and innovation both with dire economic consequences.

Violating fundamental human rights could lead to a generally unhappy populace which could ultimately result in an uprising against the state.