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Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, called on Nigerian youths to wake up and fight against the oppression of corrupt political leaders.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, June 28, Frank’s charge followed the recent protest staged by Kenyan youths resisting the proposed Finance Bill 2024.
The protest got heated when some protesters invaded the Kenyan parliament and vandalised the legislative chambers.
In a surprising turn of events, President William Ruto announced the complete withdrawal of the controversial bill.
Reacting to this development, the former APC chieftain called on the youths of Nigeria to wake up the spirit of Occupy Nigeria in 2012 and the #ENDSARS Protests to curb the excesses of the present administration through legitimate protests.
“Let Nigerians wake up and pay the sacrifice that Kenyans have paid because that is the only way we can have a better country,” he said
ICC urged to investigate killings in Kenya protest
Also, Frank called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute heads of security agencies responsible for the killing of innocent protesters in Kenya, which constitutes a crime against humanity.
He urged President Ruto to apologise urgently to the people of Kenya for attempting to make a manifestly anti-people legislation before he was forced to beat a retreat by the angered youths.
Frank called on the international community, especially the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, to place a visa ban on the heads of the security agencies that the ICC would indict after holistic investigations.
“Those who issued orders to security agencies to shoot at and kill innocent and peaceful protesters must be urgently fished out and prosecuted according to international law,” Frank said.
According to him, the right to protest is enshrined in several international treaties and declarations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He insisted that recognising this right inevitably imposes an obligation on the state, including the government and armed forces of Kenya, to facilitate protest, including by ensuring protesters are safe and not kill them.