Leaders of the 10-day nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests scheduled to start this Thursday, August 1, yesterday (Tuesday, July 30) told the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, that protesters would engage in street processions after the IGP proposed that the exercise be confined protests.
The planned protests against economic hardship, rapidly gaining traction on social media, have been scheduled to be held across all the states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja on August 1, 2024 (that is, tomorrow) and spans a 10-day period.
Egbetokun made the proposal at a virtual meeting with the organisers yesterday, during which the IGP suggested confined protests at identified locations, saying he was opposed to street rallies for fear of possible outbreak of violence.
“It is not advisable to go on street processions because as you are planning a protest, some are planning violence,” the IGP reportedly told the organisers at the virtual meeting.
But responding, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), lawyer for the Take It Back Movement, one of the groups organising the nationwide protests, rejected Egbetokun’s proposal, stating that there would be street processions before the protesters would retire to locations already communicated to the police, for rallies.
The senior lawyer had on July 26, written to the IGP to provide police coverage for protesters but Egbetokun, in his response letter dated July 29, directed senior police officers to attend to Adegboruwa’s request.
However, the IGP was later to call for a meeting with Adegboruwa yesterday (Tuesday, July 30) in Abuja “to deliberate further” on his request.
At the meeting, Adegboruwa suggested a virtual meeting with the police boss, enlisting Falana, members of the NBA and other stakeholders to attend the meeting.
Adegboruwa also mentioned some of the points of convergence for the protests as Eagle Square, Abuja; Alausa Park, Lagos; Akpakpava Lane, Benin City; School of Agric, Bauchi; Rosewale Filling Station, Iwo Road, Ibadan; Maiduguri Roundabout, opposite State Stadium, Damaturu, Yobe State; Rainbow Roundabout and Pantani Stadium, River and Freedom Park, Osogbo.
The virtual meeting held yesterday was attended by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), other lawyers, civil society organisations as well as some arrowheads of the planned protests.
Speaking at yesterday’s meeting, the IGP disclosed that some persons calling for violence during the planned protests had been arrested, warning against street processions which he said could be hijacked by fifth columnists and enemies of the state.
“Confining peaceful protesters to particular locations will help us a lot,” the IGP said, sounding the alarm that terror elements were looking to infiltrate crowds to wreak havoc.
After the IGP’s proposal, Adegboruwa reportedly insisted there would be street processions before protesters would converge at specific locations already sent to the police.
“Our letter to the Inspector General of Police indicates that there will be processions that will be guided to achieve peace during the protests,” he said, noting that leaders will also make speeches on the days of the protest.
Also, Adegboruwa said the attention of the police should be focused on thugs and groups threatening fire and brimstone, adding that the organisers could not give a specific number of people who would participate in the protests as all Nigerians who can come have been invited to join the rallies.
The senior lawyer, however, assured the IGP that the organisers are not destructive and, therefore, are not organising the rallies with the intent to cause mayhem in society.
Egbetokun subsequently said the police would provide security cover for protesters at confined locations sent to the Force Headquarters. “I will not be able to guarantee security for your members if you embark on street processions,” the IGP said. “I believe that a peaceful protest in a confined location will be safe”.
The police boss quickly added that if Commissioners of Police in states across the Federation have enough manpower, they could deploy their men to guard protesters during street processions and advised the organisers to contact police top brass in their various locations to notify them of their requests for security cover during street processions and confined protests.
