Members of the Free Nigeria Movement on Wednesday met with a top official of the United Nations in Nigeria. The meeting which held at the UN House in Abuja featured speeches and presentation of documents by the group. You will recall that the group had paid an earlier visit to the UN on the 29th Of March during which it submitted documents detailing its demands, activities and itineraries.
Presenting the documents, the convener of the group, Dr. Moses Paul, thanked the United Nations for its recognition of the right of the group to protest against the discomforting outcome of the presidential election of 25th February, 2023. According to him, “It is not illegal to hold an opinion about one’s country especially when they are built on fact and precedents relating to the process that recruits its leaders. We have been able to sustain this for sixteen days now and will continue until our voices are heard in the requisite quarters. As citizens. We seek what is best for our country and will stay the course till the end of our days. If the error of ‘Mahmoud Selection’ is not corrected, our nation will put in long years of struggle with healing. We do not want this. We thank the UN for its recognition of our right to hold opinions about the conduct of elections in our country and for respecting such by welcoming and listening to our depositions.”
He emphasized the need for the world to take political developments in Nigeria seriously due to its high demography of young people. “If anything happens to Nigeria today, nations especially the developed economies, will feel the full weight of distressed youthful energy on its borders. The result will be inimical on a global scale.” Responding to the group, the WHO Country Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, assured the group that its demands will be heard at the highest level of the organization. He said the group has every right to hold a protest as long as it operates within the cover of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He thanked the group for coming and promised to send the documents to the appropriate quarters for review and action.
The group reiterated its call for the sack, arrest and prosecution of Prof. Yakubu Mahmoud; cancellation of the election of 25th February, 2023; compensation of all victims of electoral violence; and the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee.
The group continues its protest tomorrow.