Organisers of the #FearlessOctober1 protest have announced that the police, Department of State Services, and military will not prevent them from carrying out the demonstration as planned.
The organisers have also written to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, requesting protection for the rally, stating that protest is a fundamental right and that they will not surrender to any state agency.
Nigeria will celebrate its 64th independence day on Tuesday, October 1, the day some Nigerian youngsters have chosen to protest the hardship caused by the elimination of gasoline subsidies and the depreciation of the currency.
The National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and the group’s Director of Mobilisation, Damilare Adenola, announced that mobilisation efforts had begun and that Nigerians were mobilising from all over the country for the demonstration.
“We have also written to the Inspector General of Police, informing him of our protest locations and reminding him of the constitutional duty of the police to protect protesters as opposed to the repression we have witnessed in times past,” said Sanyaolu.
The group revealed that the FCT protest will take place at Eagle Square, the same location as the Independence Day procession, while the Lagos protest will take place at the Ikeja Underbridge.
The organisers stated that the protest would take place across the country and that only a ‘rapid reversal of fuel subsidy removal’ would deter them from participating.
The IG, Egbetokun, had asked the Force zonal and state commands to deploy soldiers to strategic sites starting Monday till a stand-down order was issued.
Egbetokun further requested that officers dress in camouflage and wear hats, while also requesting that Assistant Inspectors General of Police and Commissioners of Police engage and prevent civil society groups and individuals from participating in the protest.
