The Nigerian Patriotic Front Movement (NPFM) has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the recent #EndBadGovernance protests.
It also accused him of lacking generosity despite ordering the partial release of minors and adult victims arrested during the demonstrations.
In a statement from the NPFM secretariat on Tuesday, the group criticised the President for what his “calculative” move to free the detainees, saying it was motivated more by the cost of keeping them imprisoned than by any sense of justice.
“President Tinubu was not being generous when he ordered the partial release of his kid and adult victims. He was being calculative,” it said.
“The cost of keeping them in custody after the open court revelations was far higher than that of letting them go free (for now).”
The group further explained the absence of accountability for the dead and missing victims, stating that they were left “out of sight, out of grey matter,” with no mention of their fate.
“Note: there are dead and missing victims as well. Nothing was said about them. Nothing. They are out of sight, out of grey matter. Void,” it said.
According to the civil rights group, the current ruling class has destroyed the future of Nigeria’s underprivileged children, particularly those from the underclass.
It accused the government of dismantling public education, welfare, and infrastructure, while instilling a belief that change is impossible and creating a system that punishes reformers and protects the elite.
The NPFM stated that while the rulers escape to their luxurious foreign abodes, the rest of the population is left to grapple with the dire consequences of their policies.
The statement reads, “We must insist on addressing the security challenge, cost of living, cost of governance, grand corruption, and power distance crises. Fundamentally, we must fight to reorganise production and production systems; and address redistributive justice.
“As we can see from this submission, President Tinubu employed his mini-Gulag against the children of his class enemies who challenged his harsh neoliberal economic reforms in August.”
NPFM noted that local and world public opinions shamed the President into releasing the minors arrested and detained for allegedly taking part in the #EndBadGovernance protests, adding that “evidence suggests that there is no future for the children of the multitudes under this neo-liberal disorder”.
“The best that Tinubu’s victims can hope for is to sue the government for its brutal abuse of their human rights, with the prayer that the untrusted justice system will, at last, find the courage to redeem itself from the firm grip of bandit capital and deliver some modicum of justice,” it said.
“Alternatively, the regime can be pressured to offer substantial indemnity to its many victims of the August and October protests. Either way, I can see the regime imposing its solutions.
“Our job is to upgrade our resistance and ensure that justice is done and seen to be done. This is the solemn pledge of the NPFM and its partners across the country.”
“We must effectively organise, conscientise, and continue with the protest culture as class struggle until our demands are met. ‘Revolutionaries change systems not just leaders.’ Remember that,” NPFM added.