News
June 12: Police Threatens Protesters In Lagos, Edo, Delta, Others
- Stay at home, police tell demonstrators during show of force
- No going back, it’s our right to protest –Organisers
There are indications of an imminent clash between civil society organisations and the police as a mass protest is set to be held in various states across the country and in the diaspora on Saturday (today), in commemoration of Democracy Day.
Several digital flyers, widely circulated on social media on Friday, publicised meeting points in Lagos, Gombe, Calabar (Cross River), Yola (Adamawa), Bauchi, Abeokuta (Ogun), Yenagoa (Bayelsa), Port Harcourt (Rivers), Ibadan (Oyo), Ilorin (Kwara), Enugu, Akure (Ondo), Yobe, and Zaria (Kaduna).
One poster by #RevolutionNow read, “Join the June 12 protest. No more poverty, hunger and insecurity in Nigeria… Enough Is Enough! Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.”
Another poster for a protest in Kaiserslautern, Germany read, “Buhari must go! Let’s come together to say no to government funding terrorism: Boko Haram terrorism and banditry, one litre of petrol equals N165, bad roads, poor hospitals, kidnapping, economic recession, police brutality, disregard for the rule of law, poor health sector, poor education.”
Similar flyers targeted at protesters in New York (US), Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory listed the same points but added, “N30,000 minimum wage, N13.5m senators’ salary, Nigeria is over N30tn in debt.”
One poster for a protest tagged ‘Buhari Must Go Party’ was aimed at supporters in London, United Kingdom. Similar ‘Buhari must go’ posters also targeted protesters in Toronto (Canada), Austin (Texas, USA), Calabar, Kebbi, and Lagos.
However, police commands in several states across the country, including Lagos, Bayelsa, Kogi, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti and Akwa Ibom, argued that they were unaware of any planned protest in their respective states. Some states, including Oyo and Kwara, embarked on a show of force on Friday.
They also promised to uphold law and order in the state amid plans of demonstrations circulating on social media.
But the Convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, told Saturday PUNCH in a series of text messages that there was no legal backing for the security forces to deter protesters.
He said, “The Nigeria Police has no right to tell Nigerians not to participate in protests. It is an inalienable right. Our group will go ahead regardless of the obstacles. If the police decide to use unreasonable force, let it be known that the officers involved will be held responsible even after they retire.
“June 12 is about real democracy and free and fair elections; the Buhari regime reminds us all of the criminal annulment of democratic rule in 1993.”
Asked why demonstrations were being organised simultaneously in foreign locations, he said, “It is a global protest to restore genuine democracy.”
Sowore criticised the police statement warning groups who did not obtain permits ahead of the protests, saying, “No, we do not need a police permit to protest. Even under military rule, we did not need police permits to engage in protests; it is settled in law.”
Similarly, the Convener, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, condemned the threats by the police, saying there was no basis to deny people their right to protest.
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