The residents of Lagos woke up on Monday, January 16, 2012, to discover that soldiers had taken over most parts of the state in an aftermath of the week-long strike called by the organised labour to protest the removal of subsidy on petrol by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Initially, the federal government said that it had to deploy soldiers to Lagos to forestall the breakdown of law and order and to prevent miscreants from hijacking the protests.

The decision turned out to be highly unpopular to Nigerians, especially to Lagosians.

Antagonists of the deployment argued that the protests in Lagos had been largely peaceful. Protesters only observed a two-day break to allow the leadership of the organised Labour to negotiate with the representatives of the federal government. The chief of defence staff (CDS), Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, later said the troops were deployed at the behest of the Lagos State government. The state government promptly denied it.

However, the reason given by the federal government was flawed when prominent senior citizens, including Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN), former presidential candidate Dr Tunji Braithwaite and Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, were tear-gassed while carrying out a peaceful protest against the deployment. This not only made the government's action more unpopular but also fuelled the suspicion of a concealed intent. Without doubt, the decision to send soldiers to Lagos is condemnable. The protesters in Lagos (and, indeed, other parts of the country) reserve the right to protest against government policies they believe to be unjust. the federal government's action impinges on the fundamental rights of the affected citizens. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides for rights to peaceful assembly and association.

While we demand that citizens' right to protest any perceived anti-people policy should not be muzzled, we fear that the country could descend into despotic rule if government, through armed uniformed men, continues to clamp down on innocent and unarmed citizens. If government has proof that a person or group is plotting to wreak havoc on the country, they should be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law of the land. However, peaceful protests, in the spirit of democracy, should be allowed.

President Jonathan should resist the urge of reminding the country of its military past when public opinion was brutally suppressed. The administration should ensure that the country's human rights record does not get worse. In a democratic dispensation, citizens' voices are an important element of government.

Now that the troops have been withdrawn, the federal government should apologise to those elder statesmen whose rights and dignity were violated.