Organizers reject IGP proposal for limited protests, insist on street processions

 

Organizers of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests planned for August have rejected a proposal by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to stage small protests.

In a meeting with organizers on Tuesday, the IGP suggested limiting protests to specific locations and advised against street demonstrations.

“It is not advisable to participate in street marches because while planning a protest, some people plan violence,” the IGP advised.

However, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), a lawyer with the Take It Back Movement, one of the groups organising the nationwide protests, rejected the IGP’s proposal.

The virtual meeting was also attended by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), other lawyers, civil society organisations and some initiators of the planned protests.

The planned protests against economic hardship, which are gaining popularity on social media, will be held in all states of the Federation and in the capital Abuja, in August.

Prices of food and essential goods have skyrocketed in recent months as Nigerians struggle with one of the worst inflation rates in the country and an economic crisis triggered by the government’s twin policies of eliminating fuel subsidies and merging foreign exchange counters.

The police, army and the Department of State Services have warned against Kenya-style protests. Politicians, who have speculated that the planned demonstrations could end up like the EndSARS demonstrations of October 2020, have continued to appeal to the youth to shelve the planned demonstrations, but the youth remain unperturbed, stubbornly insisting that the protests will go ahead.

On July 26, 2024, Adegboruwa, one of the lawyers of the protesters, had written to the IGP requesting that police cover be provided to the protesters.

The IGP, in his reply letter dated July 29, 2024, directed senior police officers to deal with the request of the senior advocate.

Egbetokun subsequently requested to meet Adegboruwa in Abuja on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, “to further deliberate” on his request.

However, Nigeria’s top lawyer opted for a virtual meeting with the police chief, enlisting Falana, NBA members and others to attend the meeting.

Adegboruwa highlighted some of the points where the protests converged: Eagle Square, Abuja; Alausa Park, Lagos; Akpakpava Lane, Benin City; School of Agriculture, Bauchi; Rosewale Filling Station, Iwo Road, Ibadan; Maiduguri Roundabout, opposite the State Stadium, Damaturu, Yobe State; Rainbow Roundabout and Pantani Stadium, River and Freedom Park, Osogbo.

In his speech at the meeting on Tuesday, Egbetokun said some people who incited violence during the upcoming protests had been arrested.

He warned against street marches which, he said, could be hijacked by fifth columnists and enemies of the state.

“Confining peaceful protesters to specific places will help us a lot,” the IGP said, raising the alarm that terrorist elements were trying to infiltrate the crowd to create havoc.

Following the IGP’s proposal, Adegboruwa said there would be street marches before protesters would gather at specific locations reported to the police.

“Our letter to the inspector general of police indicates that there will be marches led to achieve peace during the protests,” he said, noting that leaders will also make speeches on protest days.

Adegboruwa also said the police attention should be focused on hoodlums and groups threatening fire and brimstone. He said the organizers could not give a specific number of people who would participate in the protests, as Nigerians were invited to join the rallies.

The senior counsel assured the IGP that the organisers have no destructive intent.

Egbetokun later said that the police would provide security cover to protesters in confined spaces sent to the Force Headquarters.

“I will not be able to guarantee the safety of your members if you embark on street marches,” the IGP said. “I believe a peaceful protest in a confined space will be safe.”

The police chief immediately added that if the police commissioners of the states of the Federation had enough personnel, they could deploy their men to monitor the protesters during the street marches.

He advised organizers to contact police chiefs at various locations to notify them of requests for security coverage during street marches and contained protests. [Channels TV]

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