The United Kingdom (UK) Parliament is set to debate a petition brought against Nigeria’s Police Force and the Nigerian Government on alleged human rights abuses.
The session will be led by Theresa Villiers at the Westminster Hall between 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm today.
A post monitored on its website states that “Parliament will debate this petition on November 23, 2020.
“You will be able to watch online on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.” The debate pack is captioned “E-petition 554150 relating to Nigeria and the sanctions regime.”
Top on the agenda is the shooting of unarmed #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October.
The petition which was created by Silas Ojo was projected to gather the statutory minimum of 100,000 signatures.
According to the Parliament’s websites, by the set deadline, it had amassed 220,315 signatures surpassing the number needed for a petition to be debated by the lawmakers.
Explaining the guidelines for the debate, UK Parliament website stated that “On 6 July, the Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime by laying regulations in Parliament under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.
“In a statement to Parliament, the Foreign Secretary set out in full, the scope of the UK’s new Global Human Rights sanctions regime.
“He announced the first branch of designations as well as the Government’s approach to future designations.
“This sanctions regime will give the UK a powerful new tool to hold to account, those involved in serious human rights violations or abuses.
“The sanctions regime is not intended to target individual countries. It will allow for sanctions to be imposed on individuals and entities involved in serious human rights violations or abuses around the world.”
Nigerian youths had staged a peaceful, well organised protest against police brutality and bad governance in the country in early October 2020.
Unfortunately, the protest was hijacked by hoodlums, some unleashed on them, on the streets of major cities like Lagos and Abuja by corporately dressed men in high-end SUVs and coaster buses.
Nigerian soldiers also descended on the peaceful protesters, at the Lekki Toll Gate, the epicentre of the demonstrations shooting directly at them, killing some and injuring many.
The action led to chaos as hoodlums also began attacking the protesters, looting and causing arson across the country.
Read also:
UK Parliament, Reacts to the Killings of Unarmed #EndSARS Protesters
EndSARS: UK Parliament Set To Debate Petition Against Nigeria Today