Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN): August 2019

Thursday 8 August 2019

SPN Condemns Court Order to Detain Sowore for 45 Days

Demands immediate release of Sowore and other detained activists and journalists

Press Statement

The Socialist Party Nigeria (SPN) strongly condemns the judicial contrivance of the federal government obtained through an order of the Federal High Court to detain Omoyele Sowore for another 45 days. We restate our demand for immediate and unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore as well as all detained activists and journalists.

We call for an immediate meeting of civil society organizations, trade unions and pro-working class organizations and political parties to discuss the next step in the campaign to fight for the release of Omoyele Sowore and other detained activists and journalists as well as how to build the struggle to begin to challenge the anti-poor policies of the Buhari regime.

Sowore’s arrest and subsequent detention are predicated on a trumped up charge of terrorism. The DSS, which arrested Sowore, approached the federal high court for an ex parte order to investigate its allegation of terrorism against Sowore, while he is behind bars. The DSS proved by this action that it has no substantial material evidence to arrest Sowore in the first place; and that his arrest was designed to foil the August 5 protest or subsequent ones against the maladministration of the Buhari’s regime. This is a completely anti-democratic action, which has torn to shred any façade of democracy this regime hides behind.

We are not surprised in the SPN that the Nigerian courts have wittingly or unwittingly joined this grand contrivance of the state to smother democratic rights. In the final analysis, the capitalist court is not the last hope of the common person. Rather, just like the police and army, the judiciary is an institution for the defense of capitalist class interests. The culture of employing ex parte orders to deny the fundamental human rights of Nigerian citizens is disquieting; beginning with the designation of IPOB and Shi’ites as terrorist organizations, and now Omoyele Sowore. These developments are anti-democratic and condemnable. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari, despite failing the masses of this country, whose household economy has consistently nosedived since 2015, is intolerant of dissents.

We call on civil right lawyers to challenge this ex parte order at higher court and also challenge the constitutionality of the terrorism act, which has become a legal instrument to suppress fundamental rights, in court. This legal action must be held side by side with a series of mass actions including peaceful protests against the growing brazen attack on democratic rights.

Despite our criticism of the call for #RevolutionNow which represents in our view an attempt by a minority to carry out a revolution which is an action that can only be carried out by the mass of the working people, the August 5 protest is a clear indication of the burning anger and temper of the long-suffering working masses and the youth against the poverty-inducing policies of the Buhari/APC administration. It is for this reason that we again urge the NLC, TUC and the ULC to provide leadership for the mass of workers, youth and poor masses by declaring a one-day general strike and mass protest to demand immediate implementation of the N30, 000 national minimum wage for all public and private sector workers without retrenchment, decent employment for all, an end to all anti-poor policies of privatization, commercialization and deregulation.

We recognize that finally, the NLC has issued a public statement condemning the arrest of Sowore and the attack on protesters. This is an improvement on the statement the NLC issued on Saturday 3^rd August 2019 where it distanced itself from the August 5 protest. We applaud this change of course by the NLC and urge that this is deepened by the labour movement boldly putting itself at the head of a mass struggle to begin to challenge all capitalist anti-poor policies and build a political alternative to end capitalism and enthrone a workers-led government armed with socialist policies.

Abiodun Bamigboye

Acting National Chairperson

Chinedu Bosah

National Secretary

SPN Condemns Police Repression of August 5 Peaceful Protest

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condemns the repression of peaceful protest held in Lagos, Osogbo, Abeokuta and a few other cities nationwide on Monday 5th August 2019 by armed police and other security operatives including the Joint Military Force popularly known as OP MESA. Tear gas and live ammunition were used to disperse the protests. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of the protesters who were arrested at the protests and have been detained at various police cells. They are not criminals but activists and ordinary Nigerians who were out to exercise their democratic rights to demand good governance, something which has become a scarce commodity under the Buhari government like the previous capitalist governments.

These arrests have increased the number of activists who have been clamped in detention in connection to August 5 nationwide protest called by African Action Congress and Coalition for Revolution. This is a reminder of the dark days of the military juntas, particularly that of Sani Abacha, wherein democratic rights were severely repressed. We therefore also reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore, the Presidential Candidate of AAC and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, who has been detained since Saturday, August 3, 2019.

We call on trade unions, pro-masses organizations and human rights groups not only to call for the release of Sowore and others but also back the call with a series of solidarity actions including protests and sustained media campaigns. They must also demand that the Buhari government which has become a civilian dictatorship must always respect the democratic rights of Nigerians. They should also actively support the demands of the protest including full implementation of N30, 000 minimum wage and adequate funding of education. Indeed, the NLC, TUC, and ULC must take seriously their demand on the minimum wage by preparing and mobilizing workers to struggle for the full implementation.

As we stated in our previous statement, Buhari government has failed on the economy, something which has increased poverty, inequality, insecurity, homelessness, unemployment, etc. because it is a capitalist government. Capitalism prioritizes the greed, interest and profit over the needs of the vast majority and the society. This is why we consistently call on the working people and youth to support and join the struggle for the enthronement of a working peoples’ government democratically run on a socialist programme in order to guarantee the use of wealth and material resources of Nigeria for the benefit of all and the society.

SIGNED

Abiodun Bamigboye
Acting National Chairperson

Chinedu Bosah
National Secretary

Sunday 4 August 2019

SPN Demands Immediate and Unconditional Release of Sowore

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condemns the arrest and detention of Omoyele Sowore, the leader of African Action Congress (AAC) and Publisher of Sahara Reporters by the Department of State Service (DSS) on Saturday August 3, 2019. We demand his immediate and unconditional release.

We understand that the arrest of Sowore is not unconnected to a nationwide protest being planned by him and his party over the deplorable state of things in the country, growing poverty, and the failure of Buhari government on Monday August 5, 2019.

Therefore, this arrest is an attack on democratic rights of not only of Sowore but also the organizers of the protest. It further shows the entrenched continuation of the lack of full democratic rights under Buhari’s government and its growing zero tolerance to oppositions and divergent opinion. Similarly, Abiodun Bamigboye, the Acting National Chairperson of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) has come under attacks and harassment of DSS and the Nigerian Police for defending the interest of workers. This is a clear indication of Buhari regime’s growing despotism.

We are confident that Nigerians who are dissatisfied with the state of hopelessness will not be deterred by the arrest of Sowore or intimidation of other activists and organisations but rather determined to express their dissatisfaction to the failure of Buhari government on economy and security. At the same time we warn security operatives and Buhari government in general against any plan to repress the protest and attack the democratic rights of the protesters.

We call on labour and pro-masses organizations to lend their voices to the demand for immediate release of Sowore and unconditional respect for democratic rights by Buhari government. Most importantly, the call by Sowore and the AAC for “#RevolutionNow” is a clear indication of the anger in society at the deteriorating situation in the country and labour’s lack of an effective fighting strategy and alternative political and economic programme to the crises of capitalism. The SPN believes that NLC President Wabba’s August 2 statement that the NLC has no plans for action on the implementation of the new minimum wage or other issues showed that the NLC leadership is going down the wrong path.

We hereby restate our call for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC) to organize a one-day warning general strike and mass protests to begin to organize workers, youth and oppressed people to fight back. This if linked with the building of a political alternative can lay the basis for a movement led by the working class to take political power and put an end to the anti-poor Buhari/APC government and the capitalist system.

Also importantly, we would like those that are ready to protest on Monday and people that are generally angry to see that the Buhari government has failed on economy because it is built on anti-poor capitalist programme just like its predecessors which also failed. Also, the degenerating security situation is, apart from the role of the unresolved national question, an accumulated product of the failed capitalist programme of the successive governments on education, jobs, economy, etc. which has provided fertile grounds for sprouting of different terrors in form of kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and youth restiveness tormenting the ordinary people of Nigeria.

So, it is very correct that Nigeria needs is a revolution. However, it is not just a revolution to sweep away Buhari government but the entire thieving ruling capitalist elite and the capitalist state regardless of political parties, ethnic or religious background. It also means defeat and replacement of entire capitalist progamme including its variant like Private Public Partnership (PPP) which has proved to be the use of public resources for private profit.

Therefore, we call on working people and youths to support the struggle to actualize a working peoples’ and poor government that will implement socialist programmes that will guarantee the use of human and material resources of the society for the benefit of all and not the greed of a few. This is what SPN stands and struggles for.