Nigerian security agents made good of their vows of not allowing organisers of the #FearlessOctober1protests use the Eagle Square, Abuja for their demonstrations.
By Emma Ogbuehi
Nigerian security agents made good of their vows of not allowing organisers of the #FearlessOctober1protests use the Eagle Square, Abuja for their demonstrations.
To ensure they had their way, the combined forces sealed of the Square and dispersed a protest by the #FearlessInOctober demonstrators, escalating tensions between protesters and the government.
The police had earlier invited several members of the #EndBadGovernance Movement ahead of the nationwide march, the second in the series, against hunger, petrol price hikes, and the continuous detention Adaramoye Michael Lenin and dozens of others who participated in the August 1-10 demonstration.
Not yielding an inch away from the exercise, the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and Director of Mobilisation of the group, Damilare Adenola, said mobilisation efforts had begun, adding that Nigerians were mobilising from different parts of the country for the protest.
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The Tuesday, October 1 crackdown, involving police and military personnel, blocked access to the Eagle Square, a strategic location near the National Assembly and Presidential Villa that symbolizes Nigeria’s seat of power.
The tough measure by the government comes on the heels of allegation by a coalition of Nigerian movements, under the aegis of the Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement (NPFM), Northern chapter, of arrest of five of its leaders in Kano State.
In a statement signed by Comrade Al-Amin on behalf of the Secretariat, the coalition identified those arrested as Comrade Abdulmajid Daudu, Barrister Yusha’u Sani Yankuzo, Barrister Amina Bello, Comrade Sani NaRogo, Comrade Anas, and Comrade Abdullahi.
The coalition claimed that these comrades from the Kano NPFM chapter were taken by the police to Abuja under the instructions of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
“Comrade Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudu left his office this afternoon (Monday) at around 2:30 p.m. to attend a meeting with the Kano State Commissioner of Police at the Bompai Headquarters. He was accompanied by four other NPFM members. As of 7:42 p.m., Comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues had not returned, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
“All efforts to reach them have proved abortive. “We urge comrades across the country to raise the alarm until Comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues safely return home.
“No one in their right mind can take the sudden disappearance of Comrade Abdulmajid and his NPFM colleagues lightly. The growing state of political repression in the country makes it more urgent for the Kano State Commissioner of Police to produce Comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues,” the statement read.
The day’s protest aimed to highlight Nigeria’s economic crisis, with demonstrators demanding an end to poverty, hardship, and poor governance.
The #FearlessInOctober movement seeks to pressure the government to address skyrocketing food prices, rising fuel costs, and widespread poverty.
Previous protests held between August 1 and 10 were met with resistance from security operatives, setting the stage for Tuesday’s confrontation.
The government’s decision to seal off Eagle Square, despite it not being used for Independence Day celebrations, has raised concerns among protesters about their freedom of assembly and expression.