Ejikeme Omenazu, Chinyere Abiaziem, Jide Oyekunle, Nsa Gill, Dele Moses,Innocent Oweh and Adewale Momoh
Lagos / Abuja/ Calabar/ Ilorin/ Abuja/ Akure – Despite the clampdown on #RevolutionNow activists in Abuja on Monday by security operatives, the protesters took to the streets, in a hide and seek game, demanding good governance.
The protesters, who got a report that the police had launched a manhunt for them, sent a message out that the protest would be held at the airport in order to deceive security agents.
The police followed the lead and mobilised a large number of anti-riot policemen to Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport for the onslaught.
Also, the police and soldiers drafted to the Federal Secretariat and Eagle Square were put on red alert to descend on the protesters.
Armoured Personnel Carriers and water canon were stationed in strategic locations in the area.
But the protesters, who defied the early morning downpour, converged on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), wielding banners with inscriptions such as ‘The police must not be an arm of APC’, ‘Freedom of speech’, ‘Free Sowore now’, ‘Revolution now’, among others.
Speaking at the event, one of the leaders of the group, Adebayo Raphael, said there must be freedom for people to voice their mind and let the government know when it was going wrong.
He called on Nigerians to join the protest, saying the country was in danger and could explode anytime.
According him, “Today marks the beginning of series of demonstrations of civil resistance against oppression and bad governance in this country.
“We are here at the Human Rights Commission and our purpose here is to awake a sleeping public institution, that Nigeria is a gun powder waiting to explode.
“We shall never again tolerate the aggregation of our national treasury by a few who are only hell bent on milking this country dry.
“Our desire here is that we want a Nigeria that will work for everyone. We don’t want a Nigeria that only works for only a select few criminals.
“We are here solely for the #RevolutionNow protest. We have decided to begin the process. We know very well that this process will begin a revolutionary process in Nigeria that will liberate every suffering person in this country.”
He said the arrest of Sowore would only worsen the situation, adding that government could only inflict injuries on their bodies but could not kill the idea behind the revolution.
He called for the immediate release of Sowore, noting that he had not killed anybody on the street to warrant the arrest and victimisation.
Adebayo said they wanted a Nigeria where fundamental human rights would be respected. He berated the government for not being tolerant and for clamping down on dissenting voices.
“Leave Omoyele Sowore. Sowore has not killed anybody on the street. Sowore is not a Fulani herdsman, Sowore is not Boko Haram.
“Even Boko Haram is planning public parade in Borno, they want to do ten years anniversary and you are arresting a man that is calling for sanity in this country.
“We’re making it very clear that the incarceration of Omoyele Sowore should be brought to an end.”
Also speaking, Dare Ariyo Atoye asked President Muhammadu Buhari to order the release of the activist or get ready to arrest all the protesters.
Meanwhile, a different protest group, under the aegis of Coalition for Good Governance, stormed the Unity Fountain, wielding banners with solidarity messages in support of President Buhari.
According to the convener, Sunday Attah, the protest was to express their support for the president for laying a solid foundation in the country.
Protest Turns Violent
In Lagos, a combined team of security forces, including the Army, Police, Air Force, and Police, as well as the Civil Defence Corps disrupted the planned protest.
Several people were reportedly injured and hundreds said to have been arrested as the protesters claimed that the security agents fired live bullets at them.
Thousands of the protesters, made up of activists, civil society groups and young politicians, who had assembled at the National Stadium, Surulere, as early as 7a.m, were prevented from accessing the facility which had been earmarked as the take-off point for the protest.
Before the confrontation with security forces, the protesters called for the release of Sowore, the convener of the movement.
As the protesters, most of them adorning red berets, marched on, singing solidarity songs, the combined team of security agents fired teargas canisters at them and many scampered for safety.
At the popular Ojuelegba roundabout, security agents, numbering over 1000, formed a brick wall, preventing the protesters from going further, even as the people tried to mobilise to cross over to Yaba area, en route Freedom Square in Ojota.
Tijani Fatai, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Area Commander, Area C, Lagos, told newsmen at the National Stadium that he and his men were there to stop any form of protest at the stadium.
He explained that their presence was not to give any form of security cover to the protesters, but to stop them, even as he advised the crowd in front of the National Stadium gate to stay away.
Fatai justified the use of teargas in dislodging the protesters.
Asked why the police fired teargas at them, Fatai responded: “Because it is an unlawful assembly.”
Mohammed Ali, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Lagos State Police Command, also stressed that the protesters did not obtain the necessary permit to carry out the protest.
According to him, “Their planned protest is unlawful. They did not obtain permission for the protest. If they say they have the permission, let them show it. Anyone that foments trouble will be dealt with according to law.”
Speaking to Daily Independent, Comrade Fatai Oluseni, spokesperson for the Coalition for Revolution and a chieftain of the AAC, lamented that the security agents shut at unarmed and defenceless citizens, including bystanders who had nothing to do with the protest.
He stated that hundreds of the protesters were hit by live bullets between the National Stadium and Ojuelegba, while several others were arrested.
Police Arrest Nations’ Correspondent In Calabar
The correspondent of the Nations Newspaper in Calabar, Nicholas Kalu, was on Monday arrested at the Cultural Center, Calabar, venue of the #RevolutionNow protest in the state.
Kalu was arrested with some members of the African Action Congress (AAC) and taken to the State Police Command Headquarters at Diamond Hill in Calabar.
Speaking on the arrest, chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Victor Udu, condemned the arrest and called for the immediate release of the journalist.
“I condemn the act totally, the journalist was just doing his job, he did not go there with any weapon; we call for his immediate and unconditional release,” Udu said.
Security Operatives Stop Protest In Osun
Armed police and Department of State Services (DSS) operatives stopped members of #RevolutionNow group from protesting in Osogbo.
The protesters, led by one Olawale Adebayo, had arrived the popular Olaiya Junction to address newsmen on the reason for the protest.
The protesters who had mobilised no fewer than 30 persons were halted by the DSS and police personnel who arrived the scene.
The operatives asked the protesters to disperse but were rebuffed by a group of youths numbering no fewer than 30 and decked in orange berets and handkerchiefs.
The youths stood their ground and sang protest songs.
At this point, the security team threw tear gas at the crowd which eventually dispersed them.
Police Stop Athletes From Training In Kwara
Sporting activities at the Kwara Stadium Complex, Ilorin, in the early hours of Monday was put to a halt with the presence of heavily armed men of the Nigeria Police.
Athletes who had arrived at the stadium for training were turned back by the police.
Many of the athletes were stranded in and around the stadium gate at the popular Taiwo Ibrahim road in Ilorin.
Some of them questioned why sportsmen would be denied access to facilities to train.
Investigations revealed that the police were ordered to block the stadium gate against the #RevolutionNow protest.
The facility was reportedly said to be the meeting point for the march organised by Sowore.
Effort to speak with the Kwara Police Spokesman, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, proved abortive as he did not pick his calls.
Soldiers, Police Arrest Youths In Ondo
The planned protest failed to hold on Monday in Ondo State following its disruption by armed security agents.
The protesters across the 18 local government areas of the state converged on Ore, the commercial hub of Ondo State.
Some of the protesters disclosed that upon their arrival at the venue of the protest in the town, men of the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Army, and DSS were already on the ground to prevent the commencement of the peaceful protest.
It was gathered that Tosin Ajuwon, a journalist with Sahara Reporters, was assaulted before being arrested by security agents.
Ajuwon was covering the protest in Ore when he was accosted and brutalised by armed policemen from the Ore Divisional Police Station.
The police immediately chased away the protesters shortly after the arrest of the Ondo-based journalist alongside one of the protesters identified as Oladipupo Jelili.
Speaking to journalists after his release, Ajuwon explained that all effort to identify himself fell on the deaf ears of the armed policemen.
He said he was treated like a criminal as the fierce looking policemen seized his recording gadget and bundled him into a waiting van.
“I was covering some group of protesters of the RevolutionNow who were making attempt to block the Benin-Ore Expressway when the policemen stormed the road and chased them away.
“While all the chase was going on, one of the officers who was heavily armed, came to ask why I was filming and I easily identity myself as a journalist covering the protest.
“He immediately asked who gave me the authority to start covering protest in Ore, I told him I have the constitutional right as a journalist to do so, more so that it is in a public place.
“In fact, I have to tell him that the demonstrators also have the lawful right to assemble as granted under section 40 of the constitution and demonstrate so far their actions are peaceful.
“I feel they (policemen) were angered by these statements and they immediately arrested me.
“They collected my phone and bundled me into the police waiting van for trying to perform my duty as a journalist
“I was manhandled and handcuffed while they dragged me like a criminal. One of them even slapped me repeatedly.
“They drove me to the Ore Area Command with one other guy that was arrested among the demonstrators.
“The policemen made us to write statements and kept me in custody for several hours interrogating me.
“It was the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Ore command that came to intervene and, having found out that I am a journalist, ordered his men to release me at about 4p.m,” Tosin said.
Meanwhile, the protest could not hold in Ore as armed security agents chased the protesters who had gathered on the expressway.
Reacting, Abiodun Oyekan, one of the coordinators of Coalition for Revolution (CORE) in the state, described the action of the policemen as barbaric.
“We condemn the action of the police to disperse law-abiding citizens who are agitating for an egalitarian society in Ore today.
“They have shown force against us but nothing shall discourage us in agitating for freedom, and we use this medium to also call for the release of the journalist who was arrested by the police in Ore.
“We have all gathered to raise our voices for a free, quality, and compulsory education at all levels.
“We also want a democratic end to the issues of insecurity in the country and ask the government to pay the minimum wage while also placing all politicians on minimum wage”
Gani Adams Warns FG Over Sowore’s Detention
Iba Gani Adams, Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, has called for the release of Sowore, warning that such arrest and detention of opposition elements portend grave danger to Nigeria’s democracy.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, Adams said the arrest was a huge abuse of human right to freedom, stating that the planned revolutionary protest could not be said to be treasonable since it was yet to be implemented before he was arrested by the DSS.
Adams faulted the rationale behind the arrest, saying it was unfortunate that Nigerians usually forgot events and memories of the past.
He noted that Nigeria’s problems emanated from military dictatorship and tendency to gag the press and prevent freedom of speech.
Aare Ona Kakanfo expressed regrets that the convener did not consult many civil society groups.
The planned protest, he noted, would have presented to Nigerians the needed opportunity to express their feelings to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Frowning upon the arrest, Adams noted that Nigerians were entitled to express their feelings in as much as the protest was peaceful and represented the feelings of Nigerians.
“Not everybody can have access to the presidency in Abuja. This is democracy, not militarism, where people are cowed and jailed over issues relating to their welfare.
“Sowore is an activist, and he was part of the struggle for this democracy. Therefore, he is entitled to express his feelings and that of Nigerians in a democratic setting.
“I think the Federal Government must consider his freedom as a panacea for peace. For instance, I wonder how a peaceful protest by armless citizens will now turn to a treasonable felony.
“It is unfortunate that many of the people in the corridors of power today were part of the protests against former president, Goodluck Jonathan, in 2015, but today the situation has changed,” Adams stated.
We Are Happy Phantom Revolution Failed— Presidency
The presidency on Monday jubilated that the much anticipated revolution by Nigerians across selected states failed, saying democracy had an upper hand.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who reacted on behalf of the presidency said, “Today, millions of Nigerians went about their businesses: work, seeking employment, attending school/college and caring for their families. By doing so, the millions defended our country’s hard-won democratic rights – by ignoring calls on social media to join a phantom ‘revolution’.
“There were a few hundred persons today who, for their own reasons, decided to act upon the demands of a group calling itself Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria, which went on social media to ask everyday Nigerians to overthrow the government they only elected some six months ago.
“The president is humbled by the support – not for himself, or the governing party – but for the democratic values of modern-day Nigeria through the wisdom of those millions of citizens who preferred democracy and decided not to undermine an elected government.
“Today, joining those millions of Nigerians was not only the president and governing party at federal level, but many state governments from the opposition, trade unions, civil society organisations, media and NGOs with focus on freedom of speech. All have, rightly, united in protecting Nigeria’s young democracy and the rights of all to elect leaders and lawmakers.
“The Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria’s attempt to incite citizens into a revolution against their own democratic rights and interests has failed – as will all attempts to take away from the people their hard-won rights and freedom to choose who leads their country.”
The post #RevolutionNow: Activists Defy threat, Downpour, Hold Abuja Protest appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
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