Ireti Kingibe, senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has condemned the curfew imposed by Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, ahead of Saturday’s area council elections.
In a special broadcast on national television and radio
stations on Thursday, Wike had declared Friday as a work-free day in the
nation’s capital ahead of the council polls.
He also announced a restriction of human and vehicular
movement in the FCT from 8pm on Friday to 6pm on Saturday.
However, in a statement on Friday by Matilda Duncan, her special assistant on media, Kingibe described Wike’s action as “authoritarian, ill-considered, and unacceptable in a democratic society.”
The senator said Wike’s decision to impose a curfew across
the FCT without broad consultation with critical stakeholders is “a direct
affront to democratic governance and the constitutional rights of residents”.
“The people of the FCT are not subjects under a
dictatorship,” Kingibe said.
“They are citizens of a democratic republic. Any sweeping
restriction on their movement and livelihoods must be justified by compelling
evidence, subjected to scrutiny, and carried out with transparency.”
While acknowledging the importance of maintaining law and
order, the senator emphasised that security concerns cannot serve as a blanket
justification for executive overreach.
According to her, the curfew, as announced, risks inflicting
severe economic hardship on small businesses, workers, and families who rely on
daily income for survival.
Kingibe said there are currently no security breaches in the
FCT which warrant the imposition of a curfew, adding that the Saturday poll “is
only just area council (LG) elections”.
She maintained that decisions of such magnitude cannot be taken without cause, consultation with stakeholders, and due process.
The senator called on Wike to immediately review and suspend
the curfew.
She added that the rights, freedoms, and economic wellbeing
of the people of the FCT “must never be compromised by arbitrary,
authoritarian, and draconian executive action”.
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