The organizers of the planned #EndBadGovernance nationwide demonstrations scheduled for August have rejected the proposal by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun for confined protests.
During a meeting with the organizers on Tuesday, the IGP suggested holding protests in designated locations and advised against street rallies.
“It is not advisable to go on street processions because as you are planning peaceful protests, some are planning violence,” Egbetokun cautioned.
However, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), one of the lawyers for the Take It Back Movement, a group organizing the nationwide protests, rejected the IGP’s proposal.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), other lawyers, civil society organizations, and some key figures of the planned protests attended the virtual meeting.
The protests against economic hardship, which are gaining traction on social media, are scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation and the nation’s capital, Abuja, in August.
Prices of food and basic commodities have soared in recent months as Nigerians grapple with one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises, exacerbated by the government’s policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.
The police, military, and the Department of State Services had warned against Kenya-styled protests. Politicians, fearing the rallies might end up like the EndSARS demonstrations of October 2020, have continued to appeal to youths to cancel the planned rallies, but the young people remain resolute, insisting that the protests will go ahead.
Adegboruwa, one of the lawyers for the protesters, had on July 26, 2024, written to the IGP to provide police coverage for protesters.
In his response letter dated July 29, 2024, the IGP directed senior police officers to attend to Adegboruwa’s request.
Egbetokun subsequently requested a meeting with Adegboruwa in Abuja on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, “to deliberate further” on his request.
However, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria opted for a virtual meeting with the police boss, enlisting Falana, members of the NBA, and others to attend the meeting.
Adegboruwa highlighted some of the designated locations for the protests, including Eagle Square in Abuja; Alausa Park in Lagos; Akpakpava Lane in Benin City; School of Agric in Bauchi; Rosewale Filling Station at Iwo Road in Ibadan; Maiduguri Roundabout opposite State Stadium in Damaturu, Yobe State; Rainbow Roundabout and Pantani Stadium in Rivers State; and Freedom Park in Osogbo.
