A coalition of civil society groups from 19 northern states has called on the federal and state governments to grant amnesty to about 1,000 citizens arrested during the nationwide #endgovernance protest.
In a statement jointly signed by the groups, Yan-Almajiri Endowment, Nigeria First Project, Siyasan Yanci, Youth Lead Nigeria, and Agaie Emirate Consultative Forum said the appeal is to “to avoid further waste of scarce resources.”
The group also called on northern states’ governors to establish a N250 billion endowment for technical and vocational training in all Islamiyya schools across northern Nigeria.
The groups decried the way in which the protest went, saying “Unfortunately, what happened afterwards is now dark spot in our history that shall live with everyone forever, just like every other civil unrest”.
According to the spokesman of the group, Yahaya Mohammed Usman, “in the interest of a quick healing process, immediate recovery, and fast reconstruction that we hereby call on the states affected by the violent protest and the Federal Government to grant amnesty to the almost 1,000 suspected violent protesters arrested and facing prosecution.
“The reason is to avoid further waste of scarce resources. This amnesty should be granted after proper profiling of each person, and those found not to be gainfully employed and with no skills be immediately enrolled into skills acquisition.
“It is our fervent belief that at the heart of the current civil unrest are poverty, hunger, and unemployment occasioned by a burgeoning population in the face of poor skills and dwindling resources.”
Mr Usman also appealed to the federal government to immediately commence dialogue with all stakeholders to avoid the reoccurrence of the ugly incident.
“We make this patriotic call with a view that the Federal Government will commence the much-awaited dialogue,” he added.
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