Nigeria’s Activists Protest Killing Of George Floyd, Others
Group of activists in Lagos, on Wednesday, embarked on peaceful demonstration to protest and condemn the killing of a black American, George Floyd and some Nigerians who were allegedly killed by the police.
The activists who commenced the peaceful protest from Maryland roundabout all through to Falana Freedom House, Ikeja-GRA, also called on Federal Government to call on United Nation to prevail on President Donald Thrump led-government in United State of America, to ensure equity and justice in respect of colour and religion.
The activists also called of Nigeria government to prosecute the police officer, who alleged killed 17 years old Tina Ezekwe.
They said their call for prosecution of the police officers names in the alleged killiing of Floyd and Ezekwe, was to put an end to all forms of police brutality and discrimination in any form.
The human rights group, which includes: Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA); Democratic Socialist Movement of Nigeria (DSMN); Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA) and Democracy Vanguard (DV), during the protest, arms d themselves with placards of various inscriptions.
Some of the inscriptions read: “with police brutality, we can’t breath”; ” with injustice, we can’t breath “; Justice for Tina and others*; “with injustice no one is safe”; ” justice for George Floyd”; “Nigerians join the rest of the world in demand for justice”; “George Floyd lives on”; ” you can’t have capitalism without without racism fight for socialist change” and many others.
In the words of Comrade Isiak Buna HURMA’s Executive Director, “we wish to hereby request an open demand from the Federal Government of Nigeria through our members in the Federal House of Representatives to demand from the United States government, swift justice in the brutal killing of George Floyd, a matter presently generating serious riots within the Minneapolis.
“Reports from video coverage of the killing which was made available to our 0ch revealed that on 25th of May, 2020, the deceased, George Floyd, a black man was handcuffed by one Chauvin, a white police officer. Floyd who did not appear to be resisting any arrest was subsequently pushed to the ground with Chauvin’s knee pressed to the back of Floyd’s neck for several minutes as Floyd Is seen gasping for air and begging Chauvin to stop, but he did not.
“It is important to note that the riots In Minneapolis, USA after the white racist police officer killed that latest victim is gradually spreading to other part of the world and this may gradually affect m hospitality in nature and character of every black person towards their fellow being in white among other colors.
“The doctrine of white superiority is an act that posses a natural threat to the nature of peaceful coexistence among human being and this should therefore be raised as a national question and du compensation paid for the affected family.
“The killing of George Floyd is nothing short of a daylight murder and justice expect in same direction”.
On the killing of Nigeria’s Tina Ezekwe and George Floyd, Democratic Socialist Movement of Nigeria led by Comrade Abiodun Bamigboye stated: “we demand justice for George Floyd and Tina Esekwe with prosecution of the killer police officer and an end to racial discrimination and police brutality.
“This killing is not just an isolated case of police brutality, it is part of a systemic harassment of the Blacks, coloured people and the poor in general in the United States. Therefore, the killing of Floyd is not unconnected to his being racially profiled by the white police officer, something which as become recurring in the United States but in recent years accentuated by President Donald Trump who plays racial card in order to consolidate its base among conservative white people.
“Therefore, racial killing just like brutality by the police, who are an instrument of state repression, are together with social injustice growing inequality, poverty, joblessness ingrained features of the exploitative capitalist system. George Floyd is one of the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs recently following the economic crisis of capitalism worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the abundant human and natural resources at the disposal of the capitalist system, it alienates the working masses and the poor and therefore plunges the vast majority into a world of uncertainty and rat race. This is the foundation upon which police brutality and repression rest.
“The killing of George Floyd is similar to the police murder of Tina Esekewe in Nigeria and the avoidable deaths thousands of people across the world including Nigeria as a result police brutality, lack of healthcare, housing and other basic needs.
“We supports the protest and urges working class people in Nigeria, the US and globally to as they call for social justice, end to police brutality and racial discrimination, to also demand that police should be democratically controlled by workers and community people. However, to achieve social justice and equality, end class oppression and exploitation and thus attain an egalitarian society, capitalism has to be defeated. So, the working masses must build their class based political party, armed with socialist program to challenge and defeat the pro-capitalist political parties in Nigeria, the US and across the world”.
For Comrade Adeola Soetan of Democracy Vanguard: “it is sad that we are going back to the black history of where humanity has been degraded.
“What we are witnessing in America is boiled-up anger. We should realized that what happened in America is happening all over the world”.
On why the activist embarked of demonstration over the killing in America, Soetan said: “police kill here (Nigeria) everyday over N20, we’re not immune from the killing. We are protesting here because we are not seeing artificial boundary. What unites us together is the class we belong and what unites the elite is the class they belong.
“We are here today solidarising with late George Floyd, who was killed in America, and Late Tina, who was killed in Lagos, to tell the police to stop all forms of extra judicial killing”.
Others who spoke at the protest rally, Comrade Shina Odugbemi of HEDA and Daga Torla, a writer, also condemned the killing of George Floyd, Tina and others killed by the police across the globe.
