A human rights activist Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) has written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to notify him of planned public meetings, rallies, and processions organised by a non-governmental body, the Take It Back Movement, all its members, and some patriotic Nigerians and groups.
In a letter dated Friday, July 26, 2024, the senior advocate writing as solicitor to the Take It Back Movement stated that the planned rallies will commence from Aug. 1 to 10, 2024, or any time thereafter at the Eagle Square in Abuja and other public spaces in the capital cities of all the 36 states and the headquarters of the 774 local government councils.
Adegboruwa while reiterating the role of the police during such rallies and protests, urged the IGP to make available the details of any police officer or police team that will be assigned to cover the said meetings/rallies/processions to harmonise plans and strategies for the same.
The request comes against the background of warnings from security agencies and groups over the planned protest. On Thursday, the Department of State Services (DSS) cautioned against the demonstrations, saying it had identified the sponsors.
While the DSS agreed on the citizens’ right to protest, it claimed that some elements plan to hijack it.
“The plotters desire to use the intended violent outcome to smear the federal and sub-national governments; make them unpopular and pit them against the masses,” it said in a statement by its spokesman Peter Afunanya. “The long-term objective is to achieve a regime change, especially at the Centre.”
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On the same day, the Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike maintained that the capital territory was not available for protest just as the police deployed 4,200 personnel ahead of the demonstration.
“The CP vows to resist all forms of violent protest and lawlessness, as the police will not be stampeded into allowing the destruction of public and private properties or loss of lives,” the FCT Police Command spokesperson Josephine Adeh said on Friday.
Calls for the demonstration tagged #EndBadGovernance protest had garnered momentum on social media in the wake of the high cost of living in Nigeria triggered by the twin policies of fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the naira.
Inflation figures have reached 34 percent according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), pushing the cost of essential commodities beyond the reach of millions of Nigerians.
President Bola Tinubu has been meeting with stakeholders including traditional rulers as part of last-gasp efforts to prevent the protest. He is calling on the organisers to be patient with his government as it is making efforts to address the issues raised, assuring that reforms by his administration will pay off in the long run.
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