FACT CHECK: Did Nigerians enjoy ‘total freedom’ under Jonathan?
thecable.ng


FACT CHECK: Did Nigerians enjoy ‘total freedom’ under Jonathan?


The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has come under a fusillade of attacks for allegedly being high-handed.

On August 8, protesters, who converged on the Unity Fountain in Abuja to demand that the president either resume office or resign, were assaulted by the police. The president was in the UK, where he was receiving medical treatment, at the time. He returned to the country on August 19.

The action of the police drew the dander of many Nigerians who accused the government of clamping down on dissenting voices.

The administration has also been accused of stifling free speech and intimidating citizens, but did the preceding government perform better in guaranteeing freedom of speech, right to protest and other personal liberties?

CLAIM: NIGERIANS ENJOYED TOTAL FREEDOM UNDER JONATHAN

Citizen angst was heightened on Wednesday when the military said it was now monitoring social media for hate speeches and anti-security information.

It was against this background that former President Goodluck Jonathan shared a quote on his Facebook page on Thursday to remind Nigerians that they enjoyed “total freedom” under him.

“I am the most abused and insulted president in the world, but when I leave office you will all remember me for the total freedom you enjoyed under my government,” the quote read.

But did Nigerians enjoy total freedom under Jonathan? This is not true because individuals and groups perceived to be opposed to his government got doses of assault and intimidation.

FACT: SECURITY CLAMPED DOWN ON #BBOG

The Jonathan administration did not spare the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group a quarter. In May, 2014 – just a few weeks after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state, on April 14, 2014 – a citizen movement led by Oby Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala Usman emerged. The emergence of the group was due the government’s lethargic response to the abduction.

The group began an advocacy for the rescue of the girls. They held daily sit-ins at the Unity Fountain in Abuja. All through their campaign under Jonathan, the police threatened and occasionally used force on them. The police even assaulted Fredrick Nwabufo, TheCable journalist, in one of the group’s sit-ins.

To extirpate the movement and its advocacy, Joseph Mbu, who was police commissioner of the federal capital territory at the time, on June 3, banned all forms of protests and rallies in the city. It was after a mass condemnation of the action that Mohammed Abubakar, former inspector-general of police, lifted the ban.

On May 29, 2014, thugs allegedly sponsored by the government attacked the BBOG group at its sit-in, destroying chairs, cameras and other valuables.

The Jonathan administration also described the group as the advocacy arm of the then opposition party – the All Progressives Congress (APC); hence its clampdown on it.

FACT: ARMY ATTACKED NEWSPAPER VANS


In June, 2014, the Nigeria army began a crackdown on newspapers. Print media organisations in Abuja and Lagos were blocked from distributing their papers to other parts of the country. And this continued for days. The offence of the newspapers was a report by Daily Trust alleging that the army shared out land meant for barracks in Abuja to generals. The report also alleged that “439 beneficiaries in the land sharing are spouses, relations, friends, associates and companies of senior army officers”.

This was a time the government appeared to be losing the war against insurgency. Boko Haram launched attacks without ceasing on soft targets as well as on military formations. It also carried out attacks in the federal capital territory. So, the government did not take critical reports against the military reclining.

Soldiers seized newspaper copies, and the army flooded the offices of media organisations with its men. The offices were ransacked and journalists were harassed.

Although the army gave the lame excuse that it had information newspaper vans were being used to smuggle bombs, no single incriminating item was found in the vans.

FACT: AMINU TAMBUWAL HOUNDED FOR JOINING APC

On October 24, 2014, Aminu Tambuwal, former speaker of the house of representatives, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC. Jonathan took immediate repressive steps to punish him for his action. He asked the police and other security agencies to withdraw Tambuwal’s security.

On October 30, 2014, after speculations, the police confirmed that they had withdrawn the speaker’s security because he was deemed to be an impostor, having joined the opposition.

On November 20, the police besieged the national assembly to prevent Tambuwal from presiding over a sitting of the house. There was pandemonium as the police fired teargas canisters at the speaker and his colleagues who were making their way into the complex. The national assembly was subsequently shut down.

FACT: DSS RAIDED APC DATA OFFICES


On November 22, operatives of the Department of States Services (DSS) raided the data centre of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ikeja Lagos.

The DSS claimed it raided the centre because it had information that voter cards were being cloned there. This was in the build-up to the 2015 general election.

The secret police launched further raids on APC data centres across the country, vandalising office equipment in the process, over the same allegation.

However, the service was unable to substantiate it claims even while Jonathan was in power. The raids, which were considered as politically motivated, won public sympathy for the opposition.

FACT: SOLDIERS SHOT AT ‘FUEL SUBSIDY’ PROTESTERS IN LAGOS

On January 1, 2012, the Jonathan administration announced the removal of subsidy on petroleum. The action irked many Nigerians who did not want the burden of paying more for fuel.

Many Nigerians then poured into the streets to protest against the government’s action. There were protests in most parts of the country, but the cynosure of the protest was Lagos.

Citizens converged on Gani Fawehinmi square in Ojota to demand that the government rescind its decision. On one occasion on January 16, soldiers shot at the protesters in a bid to disperse them.

Ademola Ade, a protester, was mauled down by police bullets in one of the rallies.

The government later tempered its decision.

CONCLUSION: FREEDOM NOT ‘TOTAL’

It is clears that Nigerians did not enjoy “total freedom” as Jonathan claims. But there is a verisimilitude of truth that citizens enjoyed some level of freedom on social media. Nasir el-Rufai, a member of the APC and Kaduna state governor, used a string of expletives on the former president on social media, but he was not arrested for it. Other members of the opposition also exercised the freedom of critically excoriating Jonathan, but they were not picked up for it.

richidinho:
They will never rest, I mean the BMCs

At this rate one will think that GEJ is planning to contest another election in Nigeria

You promised us "change" but keep doing same thing that sent home the greatest president Nigeria ever produced

madridguy:
GOODLUCK JONATHAN - THE SILENT DICTATOR

They think we have forgotten:

- The then President Jonathan sacked the President of the Appeal court because he refused to compromise on the case involving the ruling party and ruling that forensic examination be allowed on materials used for the 2011 Presidential election. Even when the NJC asked that he be reinstated, Jonathan refused yet, he is your HERO OF DEMOCRACY.

- All the security details attached to then Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal were withdrawn by the Federal Government led by Jonathan yet, you still didn't see any reason not to worship him.

- For weeks in 2014, the Governor of Kano State kept shouting that security aides posted to watch over the state house were recalled as a result of orders from above, not once did you accuse Jonathan of tyranny.

- For appointing Sanusi Lamido as Emir of Kano which was within the rights and powers of the Kano State Government, Jonathan ordered security agents to lay siege at the Emir's palace. For days, the Emir operated from the Kano State Government House. You didn't call Jonathan by the dictatorship that he was acting out then.

- Jonathan withdrew the security details attached to then Governor Amaechi, Jonathan grounded the plane of Amaechi, Jonathan masterminded and hugely supported the division and crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Jonathan allowed his wife to govern Rivers from Abuja, Jonathan used Mbu to embarrass and harass a sitting Governor, Jonathan crippled Rivers because Amaechi was the Governor yet, you still see Jonathan as a demigod.

- In this same country, we saw how Jonathan supported the destruction of the once vibrant Governors' Forum by supporting 16 against 19 yet, you see him as one decent man who should be seen as a Hero.

- We have not forgotten how Jonathan used state power to prevent sitting Governors from reaching a part of the country to support the reelection of one of their own because they were in the opposition and you who is laying claim to fairness and pretending to love Democracy still claim you miss this same character.

- In this same country, we saw the circulation of an undisputed video by an army officer detailing how soldiers were used to rig the election in Ekiti State to favour the thug governing the state today and yet, you see same Jonathan who was Commander in Chief of all these barbarism as decent enough to be called a hero.

- In his desperation to see the Governor Nyako impeached, The Presidency under Jonathan had the accounts of Adamawa State frozen. A State Government account oh and not personal account of the Governor and not once did you condemn the action nor call Jonathan the dictator he clearly was then.

- Same Jonathan you can almost worship today single handedly denied his then state Governor Timipre Sylva the right to seek the nomination of his party because he had personal grievances against him yet, you never for once accused him of abuse of power.

- For the first time in our history as a country, the CBN Governor was unilaterally sacked by the President without following the due process of our law because he asked questions regarding careless stealing of the nation's money supervised and supported by Jonathan yet, you never called Jonathan the dictator he clearly was.

- As far as I can remember, the only people EFCC managed to temporarily wake up from their five years slumber under Jonathan to work on were those who criticized him and as soon as they changed gear, EFCC return back to their slumber yet, not once did you accuse him of bias nor selectivity.

As far as I know, Fayose is yet to deny that he received the alleged money traced to his account from Dasuki. What he is crying over is immunity and you who has never seen one million naira cash of your own is busy supporting him and shouting persecution. As you always say then, use the courts.

That you now call Buhari a Dictator while you still worship Jonathan must surely be giving the devil hope that he may not actually...

Stop making a fool of yourself.

thundafire:
yet u still no make sense cs u where eating a decent 4 meal a day yet 2dy u cnt eat it so shut up

thundafire:
yet u still no make sense cs u where eating a decent 4 meal a day yet 2dy u cnt eat it so shut up

richidinho:
They will never rest, I mean the BMCs

At this rate one will think that GEJ is planning to contest another election in Nigeria

You promised us "change" but keep doing same thing that sent home the greatest president Nigeria ever produced

GMbuharii:
Shameless Bmc sufferhead..see as them dey compete to write kolo speech..spits

lightblazingnow:
?

orisa37:
Yes.
Jonathan didn't treathen Nigerians who dared to call for Restructuring.
Jonathan didn't infest Nigeria with his tribe as the Fulanis are now doing.
APC in collusion with The U.S. Democrats and especially Obama nicknamed him "CLUELESS", but he didn't feel offended.

?



He launched N.C.
The U.S refused to sell Weapons to him when Bokoharam was hurting. The same U.S has now cowardly sold Weapons of $593million to the current President of Nigeria after ISWA(Bokoharam) has been substantially degraded even in a Recession.

sarrki:
We know it all lie

Pmb is a million times better than Gej

Gej tried only Ipob miscreants and fake Ipob Jews caused him that election due to their hate speech
That they are born with