…Say they’ll resist restriction to confined arenas
Organisers of the just concluded #EndBadGovernance protest say they will not obey a court order restricting their demonstrations to designated arenas as they plan ‘Fearless Protest’ in October to continue their demand for good governance in Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Damilare Adenola, the director of mobilisation of the ‘Take It Back Movement’, said they were planning another protest in October which would be called ‘Fearless’, adding that they won’t accept orders restricting them to a confined place.
Adenola said the protesters’ demands would remain the same unless there were other issues, requiring them to add more.
“Yes, it is called the ‘Fearless in October Protest’. Our charter of demands stands the same. If at all, we will add as the country decays more,” he said.
Youth across the country staged the #EndBadGovernance protests from August 1 to 10, 2024 despite efforts by the government, security agencies, and various groups to stop them.
The protesters, days before the demonstrations, submitted a list of demands, asking the government to among others, scrap the Senate arm of the National Assembly and make law-making a part-time job for the House of Representatives, pay Nigerian workers a minimum of N250, 000, reverse fuel prices and electricity tariffs, release and compensate all EndSARS and political detainees.
An unspecified number of persons were killed in the nationwide protest, with hundreds injured.
Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, alleged last weekend that more than 1,000 #EndBadGovernance hunger and hardship protesters were being held in various prisons across the country.
In a post via its X handle, the organisation accused the Nigerian authorities of escalating a crackdown on peaceful protesters by arranging over 1,000 protesters in court.
The protests took a twist and turned violent in some states, especially in the north, with cases of violence and looting recorded. Some of the protesters were also seen holding the Russian flag while chanting “Tinubu must go”.
As a result of the hostility, on August 6, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced that the police had arrested some of the sponsors of rioters who hoisted foreign flags and called for a change of government in states such as Kano, Kaduna, and Zamfara, among others.
Seven Polish citizens were also part of those arrested. The Nigerian authorities alleged they were linked to the violent protests.
