#takeitback: Police Teargas Protesters, Journalists in Abuja, Rivers, Ibadan, Others

•Demonstration peaceful in Lagos

Chuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja, Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan, Sunday Ehigiator in Lagos and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Otherwise peaceful protests in parts of the country, including Abuja, Port Harcourt in Rivers State and Ibadan in Oyo State, yesterday, turned into violence as some policemen  allegedly attacked and teargassed the protesters, including journalists covering the demonstrations.

In Port Harcourt, the protesters led by one Amanye King, Coordinator of “Take it Back”, began their peaceful march from the popular Isaac Boro park in Mile 1 axis of Port Harcourt, and on getting to CFC junction on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, they had the attack from the police personnel.

Earlier, Amanye had explained that the purpose for the protest was to express their grievances over the repeal of the Cyber Crime Act, and also the unconstitutional removal of their elected governor and Rivers State House of Assembly members.

“We are here as organisation affiliated with other groups, as Rivers people to march and express our grievances. We are not here to cause any harm and the security men are here with us.

“Our grievances are the repeal of the cyber crime act, as Rivers people, the unconstitutional removal of our elected governor and Rivers State House of Assembly.

“We are demanding a government for the people of Rivers State, because as it stands, this military government is alien to our people, so, we are here to demand that our governor comes back to office and lead us appropriately.”

Also, Solomon Lenu, who spoke for coalition of Rivers State civil society on the protest, said Nigeria was in a dictatorship rule and not democracy. He condemned the suspension of an elected government for a military administration.

But a few minutes into the protest, at CFC junction, some policemen trying to disperse the peaceful protesters shot tear gas canister at them including journalists who were covering the march.

A reporter with Channels TV was arrested and subsequently released, while other journalists from radio stations and newspapers had minor injury while trying to escape the canister.

Police spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, claimed that there was no attack on the protesters.

In a statement, she described the peaceful protesters as a group of miscreants engaging in criminal acts, including the theft of mobile phones and other valuables from unsuspecting members of the public.

In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the protesters defied heavy presence of the security operatives that were strategically positioned to forestall a breakdown of law and order.

The protesters, the majority of whom were members of the African Action Congress (AAC), were seen singing solidarity songs, decrying the present state of the economy in the country.

The protest took off  from the Iwo road end of Lagos-Ibadan expressway in the early hours of the day.

Coordinator, Comrade Dimeji Salako, while speaking with journalists, said the essence of the protest was to express displeasure against the Cybercrime Act, which according to him was to gag the people.

The state Chairman of AAC, Comrade Kayode Babayomi, in his own address, said the protesters, mostly youths, wre not pleased with the Act as it was sending people to jail needlessly becaue they chose to express themselves online.

From the federal capital city, police fired teargas canisters at protesters opposing the emergency rule in Rivers State, causing slow vehicular movement in the Maitama district of Abuja.

The protesters, who had gathered to voice their grievances over the state of the economy and the emergency rule in Rivers, were thrown into chaos as teargas filled the air, causing many to flee in different directions.

The demonstration was part of a larger nationwide action led by the Take It Back Movement (TIB), with Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC), at the forefront.

“We have informed the political authorities that we will not accept any laws that infringe on our fundamental human rights. We will continue to speak out,” Sowore stated.

While the protesters rallied, Sowore criticised President Bola Tinubu’s absence, claiming, “While we protest here, Tinubu is busy enjoying himself in France. We will not sit idly while the president continues to suppress our rights.”

Juwon Sanyaolu, the national coordinator of TIB, outlined the group’s core demands, including the repeal of the cybercrime act and the cessation of emergency rule in Rivers state, which they described as a “form of military dictatorship under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.”

The Nigeria Police Force had urged the organisers to cancel the protest and encouraged them to engage in dialogue with relevant government authorities.

The protest, unfortunately,  coincided with the National Police Day celebration on April 7.

In Lagos, young demonstrators under the TIB movement defied police warnings and came out very early in the morning to partake in the protest.

Clad in their signature orange berets, the protesters began their rally at the Ikeja under-Bridge, marching through major roads in the state capital while chanting solidarity songs, under the watchful eyes of police officers.