Labour Party(LP)’s 2023 general elections and 2025 By-elections Candidate for Edo Central, Osereme Christem Omofoma, has delivered a searing rebuke of Nigeria’s current political leadership, accusing those in power of betraying the very freedoms they once relied on to challenge government.
Speaking during a televised programme, Omofoma said the greatest danger confronting Nigeria today is the transformation of former “professional protesters” into the very oppressors they once condemned.
“The people leading Nigeria today were the most active protesters in this country. They marched in Abuja, they occupied streets, they criticized government freely — and nobody shot at them,” he said.
Omofoma noted that long before assuming office, President Bola Tinubu and many top figures in the ruling APC built their reputations through organized protests, marches and public demonstrations that were never suppressed with force.
“We all saw the videos. They protested for fuel, for elections, for governance. They were everywhere — and nobody tear-gassed them. Nobody arrested them for treason. That same freedom is now being denied to Nigerians,” he stated.
Omofoma said the treatment of demonstrators in recent years shows a disturbing reversal of democratic values.
He recounted his experience during last year’s End Bad Governance protests, where security operatives fired tear gas and live ammunition at peaceful crowds.
“I was there. They shot at us. They tear-gassed us. This is completely wrong. Protest is a fundamental democratic right,” he said.
He condemned the arrest and prosecution of peaceful demonstrators, warning that charging protesters with treason is a clear attempt to intimidate citizens into silence.
Omofoma stressed that protest is not an act of rebellion but a legitimate tool of democratic engagement.
He expressed concern that the current climate of fear is pushing Nigeria toward authoritarianism.
“If those who benefited from protest now brutalize protesters, then something is fundamentally broken. Democracy dies when leaders fear criticism,” he said.
The LP candidate said what alarms Nigerians the most is the hypocrisy of a political class that once enjoyed the protection of democratic space but now attacks citizens for using the same platforms.
“You cannot build your political career on protest and then turn around to criminalize protest. It is hypocrisy — and that hypocrisy is dangerous for Nigeria’s future.”
He urged the government to restore trust by guaranteeing citizens’ rights to assemble, criticize, and demand accountability without fear of arrest or violence.
Omofoma: ‘They Once Led Protests — Now They Shoot Protesters’
