A human rights activist Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) has notified security agencies, requesting protection over planned public meetings, rallies, and processions by a non-governmental body, the Take It Back Movement, its members, some patriotic Nigerians and groups.
In the letter dated Friday, July 26, 2024, the senior advocate writing as solicitor to the Take It Back Movement notified the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) that the planned rallies would commence from August 1 to 10, 2024, or any time thereafter.
He said the rallies would be held at the Eagle Square in Abuja and other public spaces in the capital cities of the 36 states and the headquarters of the 774 local government councils.
Adegboruwa while reiterating the role of the security agencies during such rallies and protests, urged the leadership of the security agencies to make available the details of any of their officers or teams 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 planned 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.”
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 demonstrations.
“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 works to address Nigeria’s challenges, assuring that reforms by his administration will pay off in the long run.