Watch full video of UK Parliament debate on petitions against Buhari’s government and sanctions

On Monday 23rd November 2020, the UK Parliament held a debate in Westminster Hall on the petitions it received against the Nigerian government. The debate also included possible sanctions against the government and its officials. 

According to MP Theresa Villiers, a member of the Petitions Committee, about 220,330 people signed the petitions against Nigeria online. The petitioners asked the UK government to sanction the ‘Nigeria regime’ for human rights violation relating to the #EndSARS movement.

Villiers highlighted that the reason behind the protests in Nigeria was that President Buhari’s announcement to end SARS was not enough.

“Activists are now calling for a complete overhaul of policing in Nigeria. They also want police officers responsible for beatings, killings, extortion and other unlawful crimes to be held to account,” Villiers said.

Additionally, she mentioned the shooting at Lekki toll gate on 20th October 2020, in Lagos State. “While what happened is debated,” MP Theresa Villiers mentioned videos, testimonies and the CNN reports of the incident.

She also said that the petitions called for the UK government to impose sanctions on some individuals in the Nigerian government as opposed to a ‘generalised sanction’. “This can cause problems for ordinary people not in anyway responsible for the problems highlighted by the petitioners,” Villiers added.

Also read: 10 takeaways from CNN damning Lekki toll gate shooting evidence

Travel bans and foreign asset freezes are some of the sanctions that MP Theresa Villers suggested. She also said that ministers should also note that their decisions should not come across as meddling with domestic affairs of an independent country.

During the UK Parliament hearing, one of the member claimed that General Gowon took almost half of the CBN money to the UK. Here is a video of the statement below:

That wasn’t all, he said a lot. This is the full clip. Of all the council representatives that spoke at the UK Parliament this evening, his was the most sensitive for me. Watch. pic.twitter.com/WoohWOOIrj

— Dr. First (@FirstAttah) November 23, 2020

You can watch the full video of the UK Parliament debate here:

While the UK Parliament decision to discuss sanctions against the Nigerian government does not guarantee anything happening, people have shown appreciation for their concern.