Democracy Day: Thugs attack protesters in Ondo
In commemoration of this year’s Democracy Day, yesterday, students and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Osun State embarked on a peaceful protest in Osogbo, demanding good governance.
It was not a funny scenario in Ondo State as armed thugs attacked protesters under the #TakeItBack movement taking part in a peaceful protest over the economic hardship and unemployment in the country.
The thugs descended on the protesters, who were led by human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, and activist lawyer, Tope Temokun, at the popular Cathedral Junction, Akure .
While alleging that the thugs were sponsored by some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Sowore stated that the thugs arrived with dangerous weapons, after which they attacked and dispersed the peaceful demonstrators.
The activist lamented that the security operatives deployed to ensure that the action was not hijacked by hoodlums turned a blind eye to the actions of the thugs on the peaceful demonstrators.
The Commissioner of Police in Ondo, Wilfred Afolabi, however, commended the demonstrators for their peaceful gathering, but denied that the security agencies collaborated with the thugs. He vowed to investigate the attack on the protesters.
In Oyo State, a coalition of civil socialists, labour activists, and students against hardship and hunger took to the streets of Ibadan to protest against economic hardship and insecurity .
However, in some parts of Lagos, the protests recorded low turnout, as traders opened fully for business. Members of the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) and Take It Back (TIB) Movement had called for protests and demanded accountability from the government, alleging a failing education system, hunger, hardship and unemployment in Nigeria.
The Democracy Day protest planned by the TIB Movement in Abuja did not go on as planned. The organisers alleged government intimidation, police harassment and fear of violence as major reasons for the low turnout.
The Osun protesters, who converged around the Ayetoro area around 8.30 am, later moved in procession to the basement of the popular Olaiya flyover, where they demanded the payment of full entitlement due to the winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the late Moshood Abiola.
The demonstration caused gridlock in Osogbo metropolis, as motorists and motorcyclists along Ayetoro, Old Garage roundabout and Olaiya areas moved at a snail’s pace.
Our correspondent reports that armed police personnel in Hilux vans were also on the ground, providing security cover for the protesters along the Gbongan-Ibadan expressway.
Addressing the protesters at Olaiya, the Chairman of Osun Civil Societies Coalition, Waheed Lawal, tasked President Bola Tinubu to pay Abiola all the entitlements due to him as the winner of the June 12 poll.
In his remarks, the General Secretary, Zone D, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Babatunde Aboke, charged the nation’s leaders to imbibe the legacies of Abiola in terms of free education, health and other sectors.
The Ibadan activists and students, who staged the peaceful protests along Mokola-Adamasingba-Dugbe and adjoining communities, called on governments to listen to the cry of the masses.
Their demands included: “End hunger, hardship and insecurity, reverse all International Monetary Fund/World Bank anti-poor policies, and end attacks on democratic rights for genuine electoral reform.”
The Lagos protesters, who converged on the Ikeja Under Bridge, also protested in Maryland and Ojota, Lagos from 8.30 a.m. to the afternoon.
National Coordinator, TIB Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, said freedom of speech was under attack and that the state turned on its citizens with an unrelenting campaign of intimidation and censorship.
He said: “Journalists are harassed. Activists are detained. Citizens are arrested for social media posts. Through weaponisation of the Cybercrimes Act, government agents now stalk the digital footprints of dissenters, silencing legitimate criticism and criminalising free expression.
“Even more alarming is the escalating assault on the right to protest. Peaceful assembly, a cornerstone of any democratic society, has become synonymous with treasonable felony under the government of Tinubu.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, commended Nigerians, especially Lagosians, for peacefully rally.
The CP had deployed security officers to strategic locations such as Lekki Tollgate, Ikeja, Maryland and Ojota to beef up security.
Speaking with The Guardian in Ojota, the CP said: “I met with 15 CSOs involved in the protest and the focus was to ensure that there’s peace and orderliness; one of the essentials of democracy is freedom of expression, which everyone must be allowed to.
“Democracy Day is the day of jubilation. Thousands of Nigerians came out to appreciate what the Federal Government is doing to better the lives of Nigerians, including security. We provided protection for the protesters and those jubilating, as we are obligated to ensure everyone’s security.
Despite days of mobilisation and a nationwide call to action, key protest locations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including Eagle Square, Unity Fountain, National Stadium and Utako Market, remained calm.
Only a handful of demonstrators appeared at Apo, and the group soon dispersed moments later.
One of the mobilisers, Damilare Adenola, explained that fear and government repression were major deterrents.
“It is very obvious that the turnout was low due to the violent character of the government,” Adenola said. “We saw how they deployed officers massively against peaceful protesters.”
