The Take-It-Back movement has said there is no going back on the planned nationwide protest scheduled for Monday, April 7.

This is even as the Lagos State Police Command issued a directive to all commanders and officers within its jurisdiction, alerting them to the protest.

Take-It-Back had called for a nationwide demonstration to address what they described as the “authoritarianism of President Bola Tinubu administration, abuse of human rights, and the misuse of the Cybercrime Act.”

The protest is tagged: “Nationwide protest against bad governance and free speech suppression.”

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the National Coordinator of the movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, said the planned protest would hold despite the security alert.

He disclosed that the core demands of the protest include: the repeal of the Cybercrime Act and the end of emergency rule in Rivers State, which he described as a form of military dictatorship under Tinubu’s administration.

According to flyers made available to our correspondent, the organisers of the protest urged protesters in Lagos to converge at Ikeja under bridge, while those in Oyo State were to converge on Iwo road in Ibadan, while the protest was to take off at Isaac Boro park in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Sanyaolu said, “We are going ahead with our planned protest. The protest is nationwide, and we are protesting against the oppression of President Bola Tinubu government. We are protesting against the pushback of this government on some of the democratic rights of the citizens and the authoritarianism of this government.

“What we are protesting to ensure that the civic gate is kept open, to ensure that Nigerians can freely continue to organise against systemic injustice and bad governance that have been the hallmark of this regime.”

Sanyaolu cautioned the police and other security agencies not to provoke violence, saying, “We want to caution the police and other security agencies not to provoke protesters by introducing violence into a peaceful protest. They should just do their job and ensure the safety of everyone during the protest.”

He stated that the protesters would resist any attempt by security agencies to disrupt the protest.

However, the Lagos Police Command said intelligence reports revealed that “some groups operating under the guise of civil society organisations” are preparing to mobilise protests across Nigeria.

The circular reads, “Intelligence report at the Command disposal reveals a plan by some subversive groups parading themselves as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and other misguided anti-government forces, to incite nationwide protest on 7th April 2025 aimed at drawing the attention of the Government to their perceived prevailing high cost of living and free speech suppression.

“Furthermore, the groups have flooded the social media platforms with narrations geared towards winning public sympathy, discrediting the government and galvanising support for the protest. Experience has shown that criminals may want to seize the opportunity of the protest to cause mayhem, particularly to launch attacks on government facilities and opposition leaders to disrupt socio-economic activities in the State, amongst others.

“Consequently, the Commissioner of Police has ordered security measures to be beefed up around critical installations and other strategic locations across the State in order to forestall any untoward development before, during and after the proposed protest.”