• Chief of Army Staff calls for restraint, urges dialogue
• Foreign embassies support rights of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression
• Erameh: Protests driven by deep-seated social injustices, hopelessness
• Lesson from Nepal is to pressure leaders against tyranny, Otubanjo says

Nepal’s Army has announced it will assume responsibility for law and order amid rapidly escalating unrest across the country.

This followed the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, after anti-government protests rocked the nation for two days.

Chief of Army Staff, General Ashok Raj Sigdel, called for calm, saying, “The Military is committed to safeguarding national unity and territorial integrity,” adding, “The Army will be mobilised after 10:00 pm (Tuesday) to take the situation under control.”

He appealed to the nation, stressing, “There has been a huge loss of life and property during the protests so far, and I urge demonstrators to show restraint. It is our common responsibility to maintain law and order, ensure national unity and not to let additional loss of life and property. This is an uneasy situation, and the need is for normalising tensions.”

His statement reads in part: “Since the beginning of Nepal’s history, the Nepal Army has always remained committed, even in difficult circumstances, to safeguarding Nepal’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom, national unity, and the security of the Nepali people.

“We express deep sorrow over the irreparable loss of lives and property during the ongoing movement in Nepal. We pray for eternal peace for the departed souls and extend heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families.

“Therefore, to lead the country towards peace from the present adverse situation, we appeal to the protesters to suspend their protest and come for dialogue.”

Thousands of young demonstrators demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation poured into the streets as unrest, fuelled by corruption allegations and a controversial social media ban, intensified.

Protesters stormed Nepal’s federal parliament in Kathmandu, setting fires and clashing with security forces despite a curfew in the capital.

Security concerns have deepened as the demonstrations turned increasingly violent.

At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 injured since the protests escalated on Monday.

The homes of top politicians, including that of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, were vandalised and set ablaze.

The unrest began after the government banned 26 social media platforms last week, including Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, citing the need to curb fake news, hate speech and online fraud.

The ban, however, sparked anger among young people who rely heavily on these platforms for business, news and self-expression.

Although the government reversed the restrictions late on Monday, the protests had already snowballed into a broader movement against corruption and privilege among Nepal’s elite.

Much of the outrage has been channelled through the viral “nepo kid” campaign, which spotlighted the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children.

The campaign, amplified on TikTok and Instagram, accused the offspring of Nepal’s political class of flaunting luxury cars, vacations and expensive possessions without accountability.

“Nepo Kids show off their lifestyle on Instagram and TikTok, but never explain where the money comes from,” one user said in a widely shared video.

The hashtag #NepoKids quickly rose to the top of social media trends, fuelling public anger.

Amid mounting pressure, several cabinet members resigned, including Water Supply Minister Pradeep Yadav and Agriculture Minister Ram Nath Adhikari, both citing dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the protests.

Yadav expressed support for “Gen Z youths in opposing repression,” while Adhikari condemned the government’s “dictatorial” approach.

Many protesters said the social media ban was only the tipping point. “Rather than the ban, everyone’s focus is on corruption. We want our country back,” protester Sabana Budathoki told the BBC.

Another demonstrator added that the ban was an attempt to “silence” young voices, which instead pushed them to raise their demands more forcefully.

Meanwhile, the embassies of Australia, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States in Nepal have, in a joint statement, reaffirmed their strong support for the universal rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

They urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid further escalation and ensure that these fundamental rights are protected.

“We are deeply saddened by the violence seen in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal today, including the tragic loss of life and injury during demonstrations.

“We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims, all those affected, and wish those injured a swift and full recovery,” the statement read.

Analysts say the crisis reflects deeper structural failures.

Senior Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Dr Nicholas Erameh, described the protests as a reaction to “deep-seated social injustices” and the state’s inability to address citizens’ grievances.

He explained that the protests stemmed from genuine anger with the system, the strained relationship between citizens and the state, persistent hopelessness, and, more importantly, the impunity with which elected leaders have continued to perpetrate injustice at the expense of the people.

According to Erameh, the outcome of the protests could be foreign intervention, citizens pushing out their government, the government suppressing their intentions, or being forced to negotiate with the people.

“That can only be possible depending on the extent to which the government itself is ready to take some pay cuts, some reduction in excessive and bogus spending, and create more jobs.

“This is borne out of the fact that rebellion itself is planted in an empty stomach because it is really not in the interest of citizens themselves to crumble the state, because everybody clamours for a strong state.

“But whatever it is, what you must admit as a fundamental truth is that there are a lot of social injustices that are triggering these issues. And they have become unbearable to the citizens,” Erameh said.

Drawing lessons, he warned that other countries within a similar context must take heed of what is happening before it escalates.

Professor of International Relations, Femi Otubanjo, said comparing Nigeria to Nepal is an odious exercise because Nepal, which previously practised monarchy, has a long history of agitation and protest, unlike Nigeria, which has a different political environment and a more sensitive leadership.

“I don’t know any pressure that has led to any significant success in Nigeria.

“However, what is ongoing in Nepal teaches us the need to organise and defend ourselves against tyranny,” he said, adding regretfully that Nigeria remains severely fractionalised along religious, regional and ethnic lines.

According to him, Nepal is a homogeneous society with a monolithic religion.

“They are a people who have the same language, understand themselves, and when they decide to protest, they are protesting with one mind. But once you start a protest in Nigeria, they begin to focus on ethnicity.

“We have too many distractions, too many areas of division. I don’t think Nepal is up to Lagos alone in terms of population and size, so again, it’s easier to mobilise people in that kind of smaller environment. But the lesson is we must put pressure on those in authority all the time and if they are not doing the right thing, we must mobilise to bring them down.”

From hashtags to upheaval: How it all began
Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned following two days of protests against rampant corruption and inequality, which were exacerbated by the government’s recent decision to ban specific social media platforms in the country.

Last week, Nepal announced a ban on 26 social media platforms, including Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, which failed to comply with local registration requirements. But even weeks before the ban, there was discontent simmering on social media platforms over corruption by government leaders and a campaign to publicly shame influential children of the rich and powerful in the country.

The online campaign soon transformed into protests — which were proposed as peaceful demonstrations — in the capital city, Kathmandu, and surrounding areas. But by the end of the day on September 8, 19 people were killed and more than 300 were injured as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowds, local media reported. The ban on social media apps was lifted late on September 8 following the deaths of young protesters.

“What unfolded in Nepal is a stark reminder that digital repression and the violation of human rights are increasingly becoming part of the playbook of both democratic and authoritarian regimes,” Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Global Campaign Manager at digital rights nonprofit Access Now, told Rest of World. “This is unacceptable and cannot be treated as business as usual.”

Nepal has millions of social media users, with 56 per cent of the country’s population having internet access in 2023, according to the World Bank.

In November 2023, the Nepali government issued directives for social media management, one of which stipulated that platforms must register within the country to operate there. It also mandated that each company appoint a resident grievance officer and a compliance officer for self-regulation, and take down any content flagged by the government within 24 hours.

The government said the move would tackle fake news, hate speech, and online fraud.

Some platforms, such as TikTok, which faced a nine-month ban from November 2023 to August 2024, and Viber, met these requirements. Others were banned after they failed to comply with the rules.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung told the media that when the companies were asked to register, they made claims “as if they would not follow Nepal’s Constitution and laws.”

In March 2024, the Asia Internet Coalition, an industry association representing companies including Google, Amazon, and Meta, wrote to the Nepal government, stating its new policy creates “significant operational and logistical challenges.”

The AIC’s letter said: “The proposed registration process for internet companies in Nepal presents significant administrative hurdles for our members, involving the submission of confidential documents detailing user statistics, platform activities, security measures, and tax information.”

On August 17, Nepal’s top court stated in a judgment that “online and social media platforms of domestic or foreign origin should be mandatorily registered with the competent authority before operation, and mechanisms should be in place to evaluate and monitor undesirable content.”

On August 28, the government issued a “final” seven-day deadline to social media platforms to comply.

Critics of the move said the government maliciously misinterpreted the judgment to ban social media platforms that don’t register with the country’s communications ministry. Meta is already registered with the tax office and has been filing taxes in Nepal.

After the seven-day deadline had lapsed, Nepal banned 26 social media websites and apps, including Facebook, Messenger, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, LinkedIn, and Snapchat, among others.

In the days before the ban, Nepali social media users borrowed the trending hashtag #NepoBaby from Indonesia, which is witnessing protests related to the misuse of taxpayer money by politicians and their families.

Nepali content creators earn over 3.5 billion rupees ($24.8 million) from YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook videos in a country with a GDP of $42.91 billion. When Prime Minister Oli was asked about this, he said the country’s pride and sovereignty were more important than just a handful of people losing their income. This also didn’t go down well with the Gen Z protesters.

On September 8, after the 26 websites and apps had been banned, young users — many of whom rely on the platforms to earn a living — planned a peaceful protest in Kathmandu, demanding an end to corruption and the lifting of the ban.

The protests took a violent turn, with at least 19 people reportedly killed.

A day later, Oli resigned.