The Federal Government has said the law is a leveller and being a member of a group, regardless of its status, should not preclude a person from being investigated or prosecuted when the law is breached.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this on Friday in Lagos at a meeting with editors of newspapers.
He made the statement while responding to a question on the alleged arrest of some #EndSARS protesters and sponsors.
“Being a member of #EndSARS protest does not grant you immunity if you have committed any crime against the land. The key thing is that you must be treated according to the laws.
“Even those whose accounts were frozen, the Central Bank of Nigeria went to court to seek permission to freeze the accounts. I am also aware that some of them whose international passports were seized had been returned.
“None can stop the government from investigating anybody, including #EndSARS protesters. Whoever you are and whatever you are doing, you must not take the laws into your hands.
“You must follow the due process because where your rights end is where someone else’s rights start,” he said.
According to the minister, the purpose of the meeting is “to review what transpired during the protest and subsequent crisis and draw the necessary lessons to forestalling a recurrence, especially of mindless violence that followed the hijack of the peaceful protests.”
Mohammed said there was no clampdown on the protesters and their supporters, adding that the government is following the due process in the investigations being carried out.
