Nigerians are preparing for nationwide protests on October 1st, Independence Day, under the hashtag #FearlessOctober. Hungry and angry Nigerians are mobilizing to demand action on pressing national issues. The demonstrations, expected to occur in multiple cities, aim to draw attention to the country’s social and economic challenges.

State commands of the Nigeria Police Force have deployed officers to flashpoints as organizers of the October 1 protest insist on moving forward with the demonstration on Independence Day, as per findings by The Fount.

If the protest takes place, it will be the second time in two months that frustrated Nigerians would take to the streets to express their disapproval of the hardships in the country caused by the increase in petrol price and electricity tariff, as well as the floating of the naira by President Bola Tinubu’s government.

The #FearlessOctober1 demonstration is a follow-up to the #Endbadgovernance protest, which occurred from August 1 to 10. According to the organizers, the latest demonstration is a result of the Federal Government’s failure to address their demands, which include issues such as hunger, increasing living costs, insecurity, government spending, electoral reforms, and human capital development.

The group explained that the FCT protest would be held at the Eagle Square, the same venue of the Independence Day parade, while the Lagos protest would take place at the Ikeja Under Bridge

On Sunday, the human rights advocate and leader of the protest, Omoyele Sowore, said they were “fully prepared” for the protest, adding that they would hit the streets at 7 am on the scheduled date.

“We are fully prepared. Our organisers are on the ground and would not be going into hiding. These are revolutionary times, Nigerians will hit the streets en mass starting from 7am on October 1,” he said.

In Lagos, the organizers plan to start their march at the Ikeja Under Bridge at 7:30 am.

Police Flashpoints Across Nigeria

The States Commands of the Nigeria Police Force have deployed police officers across the nation to protect the citizens and avoid violence that marred the last #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest especially in the Northern part of the country. In Niger, Kano, and Kaduna, where lives were lost in the last protest, gun wielding officers can be seen patrolling the respective state capitals.

The Kano State Police Command has also deployed its personnel to strategic positions.

We want to ensure peace and order because we always learn from the past,” the command’s PPRO, Abdullahi Haruna, told journalists

Haruna added that the command had also engaged the leadership of the Nigerian Patriotic Front Movement, which had indicated its intention to stage a peaceful protest on Tuesday.

“We reminded them of the dangers associated with such a protest, especially in Kano, in view of its nature,” he added.

He assured residents of adequate security, saying the command was fully prepared for any eventuality

In the southern part of the country, where the last protest was relatively peaceful. The state police commands across the south are also getting ready to assure peace and avoid violence.

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, on Sunday, said the command would on Monday (today) massively deploy its operatives to flashpoints and vulnerable areas across the state to guide against any breach of peace by the October 1 protesters.

Alamutu also said that the command met with the student body, transport union members, and youth organisations, among others, on Sunday to engage them and  dissuade them from participating in any unauthorised protest

Alamutu said, “By tomorrow (today), we shall embark on the deployment of police operatives to flashpoints and vulnerable areas across the state. This is to send a powerful signal to all criminals and trouble makers that we won’t allow the peace we are enjoying in the state to be compromised under whatever guise.”

Nigerians are ready – Organizers

Meanwhile, the National Director of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, said preparations for the protest were in “top gear”, noting that they had no plans to go underground as they had done nothing wrong despite the repressive measures by the Tinubu-led administration.

“Preparations are in top gear nationwide, and we are going to be coming out on Tuesday, October 1, as scheduled, not just to exercise our constitutional right to protest but to restate our opposition to the neo-liberal direction of Tinubu’s government. We have no plans of going underground; we have not committed any offence. We are well within our rights and the ambit of the law”.

“So we are organising openly, and we are doing that despite repressive measures by the Tinubu-led government. But we are not bothered by that because we haven’t committed any offence. If there’s anyone in the wrong, it is the Tinubu regime who have chosen to turn deaf ears to the yearnings and the demands of the Nigerian people and the Police institution that continues to violate the constitutional rights of the people through its repressive measures. Nonetheless, we are not deterred, and the protest will go on as scheduled”.

Similarly, the Director of Mobilization for the Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, stated, “I’m going nowhere. Protest is not a crime. I will not run, having done nothing wrong.”

Publicity Secretary of the Take It Back Movement in Rivers State, Andy Akpotive, said the protest was aimed at bringing leaders in the country to accountability.

Akpotive stated, “We are insisting that October 1, 2024, provides us with the opportunity, the window, the latitude to come out again and say we will refuse to be cowed, we will refuse to be slaves. We refuse to be kept under in our land where we share equal rights, even with leadership.”

Demands

Some of the group’s demands include rejection of IMF neo-liberal policies; reversal of hike in fuel price and electricity tariff back to pre-May 29, 2023 levels, making government-owned refineries work to guarantee affordable fuel products, reducing food prices, supporting farmers to ensure sustainable food production, ending insecurity, banditry, terrorism and violent crimes, prosecuting culprits and their sponsors.

Others are a robust security architecture and adequate support for soldiers at the front and their families, release of Adaramoye Michael Lenin, Mosiu Sodiq, Daniel Akande and all #EndBadGovernance protesters, activists, journalists, whistle-blowers and other victims of state repression unconditionally, implement N70,000 New National Minimum wage at all levels and reduce the cost of governance.

Opposition Political Parties Bickers

The ruling All Progressives Congress has warned the opposition not to throw the country into anarchy by encouraging Nigerian youths to participate in the planned nationwide protest.

But major opposition parties in the country dissociated themselves, saying the masses who have been on the receiving end of the hardship brought about by President Tinubu’s economic reforms do not need any prompting to hit the street in protest.