#EndSARS:GCMHE,HURIWA Blast CBN Governor Emefiele over Accounts freezing

By Gloria Uwadirioha

A Non-Governmental Organisation,Global Center for Media and Human Empowerment(GCMHE) through its Acting Director-General Charles Ejoh has blasted the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr.Godwin Emefiele describing him as a”political witch”for being a tool in the hands of the APC led government in Nigeria.

The civil society advocacy group  in a statement made available to EAGLE EYE WATCH, also threatened to drag  Emefiele to court for flouting the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and International best practices on human rights,

Ejoh advised the CBN boss to focus on his primary mandate and not to infiltrate into political matters as the nation is already at a boiling point ready to explode.

He also urged well meaning Nigerians to vehemently resist this move before it snowballed into another crisis that the country may not be able to managed.

“I mean it is an affront to our sensibilities that the boss of an apex banking  institution in Nigeria will condescend so low by going to the extent of freezing innocent peaceful Nigerians monies just because they were protesting against bad governance or is Emefiele telling Nigerians that people can no longer sponsor a peaceful protests in Nigeria again”.

Ejoh further urged Emefiele to freeze the accounts of Boko Haram sponsors in Nigeria :” Enough is Enough of this Emefiele and president Buhari,s antics of  suppressing the oppositions in Nigeria”.

Similarly,the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has flayed Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele for “equating promoters of #ENDSARS with terrorists”, claiming that he “is tormented and terrorised by truth.”

The rights group accused him of “deviating from his core duties and statutory obligations.”
HURIWA insisted: “We have followed the unfortunate trajectory of attacks and well-orchestrated affronts against constitutionalism by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and his extreme availability to be used to witch hunt civil rights campaigners.

“The latest antics of the CBN to freeze accounts of some Nigerian citizens, based on an ex-parte motion before a court, are sad, shocking, unfortunate, unpatriotic and despicable.”

It also urged the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media, Garba Shehu, to refresh himself on constitutionalism and democracy, “so he understands that peaceful protests by citizens against misconduct of members of the policing institution of Nigeria are lawful and constitutional.”

Citing Section 14 (2) (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), HURIWA noted: “The participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.”

In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA claimed that the presidential aide was “bereft of deep knowledge of the workings of constitutional democracy which was why he told a television station that citizens who participated in the peaceful marches against police’s excessive deployment of force and deployment of extrajudicial killings of civilians as policing techniques would, in his warped imagination, face the consequences of their action.”

It added: “For the avoidance of doubts, Shehu needs to be told that democracy without peaceful protests is dead, just as the constitution in Chapter 4 permits the citizens to demonstrate constructively against oppressive styles of governance because ultimately the ownership of the sovereignty of Nigeria belongs to the people from where office holders derive the legitimacy to exercise lawful authority in line with the Section 14(2) (a).”