Police unaware of planned ‘Fearless in October’ protests – Spokesman

Organisers of the just concluded #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest that held nationwide from August 1 to 10, 2024, are planning to stage more protests in October.

The Director of Mobilisation of the Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, disclosed the planned protests to our correspondent on Monday, adding that the demands of the protesters would remain the same unless there were other issues, requiring them to add more.

But when contacted the spokesman for the police, Muyiwa Adejobi said, “We are not aware of this. When they inform us, we will do the needful.”

However, speaking on the planned protest, Adenola said, “It is called the ‘Fearless in October Protest’. Our charter of demands stands as same. If at all, we will add more as the country decays more.”

Youths across the country had staged the #EndBadGovernance protests nationwide, including the Federal Capital Territory, despite efforts by government officials, urging youths to shun the protests.

The protesters, days before the demonstrations, had submitted a list of demands, asking the government to, among others, scrap the Senate arm of the National Assembly and make law-making a part-time job for the House of Representatives, pay Nigerian workers a minimum of N250,000, reverse fuel subsidy removal and the reduce electricity tariffs.

Asked whether the protesters would heed court orders from state governments requiring them to hold demonstrations at designated points, Adenola responded, “We won’t accept the compliance”.

Similarly, a report by the Daily Post stated that the Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, confirmed the planned protests, stating that unlike the #EndBadGovernance protests, the #FearlessinOctober protests would be prolonged, denying any knowledge of ongoing negotiations with the government.

“I am not part of any negotiations. We are all working on our next set of prolonged protests tagged #FearlessinOctober,” Sowore told the Daily Post.

Meanwhile, activist and human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, told our correspondent that efforts were currently being directed towards ensuring the release of protesters who were arrested during the previous protests.

“All efforts are being directed towards securing the release of those that have been arrested,” he told our correspondent in a phone call.