Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari and 36 state governors have been urged to “publicly instruct the Nigeria police and state security outfits to respect, protect, and facilitate the rights of everyone to freedom of expression, assembly, association, and equal participation during the election campaigns, regardless of their party affiliation.”

The call came from a Lagos-based rights group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), through a statement issued by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, who equally asked the President to “publicly instruct the Nigeria police to facilitate the right of every Nigerian to participate on an equal basis in the political process in any part of the country, and to ensure that the police is not used by state governors to target supporters of opposition parties and those holding differing political views.”

According to SERAP: “There are concerns about the lack of a level playing field. The police in Ebonyi State recently dispersed hundreds of supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi who gathered for a rally in Abakaliki. Mr Obi has also condemned the attack and intimidation of the party’s supporters.”

The group in its letter, dated October 8, 2022, specifically argued that: “Facilitating the rights of supporters of political parties to hold rallies and processions on an equal basis would promote public confidence in the integrity of the democratic process.

“The right to participate meaningfully and equally in the political and electoral processes, including to hold rallies, processions, or meetings during the campaigns is part and parcel of any system of representative government.”