Police teargas mother with baby, others at Eagle Square, shoot protester at Nyanya

Protesters scampered for safety at the Eagle Square Abuja after police shot teargas canisters and pepper spray to disperse them.

At the time of this report at about 1.20pm, the protest at the Eagle Square, Abuja was taking place amid tight security presence, but came also as a certain indication that protesters defied the FCT high court other than that the protesters restrict themselves to the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Elsewhere at the Nyanya/Maraba axis, angry youths barricaded the express road with bonfires from disused tyres, after one of the protesters was shot by a trigger-happy police officer.

Following the incident, the angry youths mobilized and dared the police to kill them as they chanted anti-government songs.

As at the time of this report, the victim had been rushed by his colleagues to an undisclosed hospital for medical attention.

Journalists covering the protest observed that a lot of battle-ready security operatives, including men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Army, Civil Defence Corps and others, were stationed at strategic positions at the Eagle Square.

Addressing the protesters, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, who was not wearing his name tag, directed them to join other protesters at the MOKO Abiola Stadium, but the protesters defied the order, causing the police to shoot teargas to disperse them.

But in a particular dramatic defiance of the police at the Eagle Square, an angry protester confronted the officers, holding up a baby and daring them to shoot.

The aggrieved mother told journalists that she was protesting because her husband was killed by bandits who had kidnapped him.

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had restricted participants in the August 1 hunger protest against the federal government to the MKO Abiola stadium, also known as National Stadium.

The order of Justice Sylvanus Oriji was sequel to an ex-parte motion filed by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.

Chief James Onoja (SAN) who moved the motion on behalf of Wike argued that the reliefs sought were for the interest of national security.

Wike had applied for an order of interim injunction restraining the five leaders of the protesting groups from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, streets, offices and public premises within the FCT between August 1 to August 10, or any other day thereafter, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

He also applied for another order of interim injunction mandating the security agencies to prevent the protesting leaders from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, offices or public premises within the FCT between August 1 and 10, pending the hearing of his motion on notice.

The minister, who said that the federal government was not averse to the protest, claimed that intelligence and security reports reaching him indicated that some elements within the leadership of the protesters intend to capitalize on the planned protest to cause havoc and irreparable damages to public facilities and blocking of roadways to prevent the movement of persons and vehicles and disturb public peace.

He claimed that when he contacted the security agencies to ensure that the planned protest did not degenerate into criminality and disturbance of public peace and order, he was told that they were not well equipped to manage any crisis that may arise from the planned protest at a short notice; hence, they advised him that prevention is better than cure.

The Minister tendered an exhibit from the “Take it Back Movement, FCT”, signed by one Damilare Adenola, in which they threatened to invade the Presidential Villa and also threatened to pull down the outer wires facing the Aso Rock villa during the protest

Besides, they demanded that the FCT provide them with light and a toilet during the protest.

In his ruling, Justice Oriji, who recognized the rights of the protesters to embark on the protest, restricted them to the Stadium in view of the genuine fears expressed by the minister.

“In the light of the above, the court considers it appropriate and expedient to grant an order under the omnibus or general prayer to ensure that the rights of the protesters are guaranteed and that the protest does not negatively or adversely affect the rights of other citizens to move about and to ensure that properties and other public facilities are not destroyed,” the judge held.

He, therefore, ordered the 1st to 5th respondents to “use the Moshood Abiola Stadium” only for the protest.

But the protesters would appear to have taken a dim view of the court order when many of them poured into the Eagle Square and the Nyanya Expressway this morning in response to calls by civil society groups on Nigerians to come out today and for the next 10 days, to protest against the harsh economic policies of the Tinubu Administration that have brought hunger and untold hardships upon the mass of the people of Nigeria.