Police and members of the #RevolutionNow Movement on
Thursday were involved in heated brawls following a nationwide
protest staged by the group.
The group mainly made up of young persons staged a protest in
various states and at the Federal Capital Territory where they went
to the United States Embassy expressing their disapproval of the
nation’s security situation and the socio-economic crisis.
At the US Consulate in Abuja, they demanded the resignation of
the President Muhammadu Buhari, arguing that the present
administration has not effectively tackled the issues of
insecurity, hunger, and corruption in the country.
Under the leadership of their convener, Omoyele Sowore,
members of the movement wielded a big banner with the inscription,
‘Buhari has failed,’ and other placards which read, ‘Failed
leadership has made Nigeria the capital of the world,’ and
‘#RevolutionNow’.
Joining the protest in Abuja were #BringBackOurGirls activist,
Aisha Yesufu, Ariyo Dare-Atoye, Henry Shield, Adebayo Raphael, Deji
Adeyanju of Concerned Nigerians, among others.
Together, the protesters berated the government, claiming that
the present administration has failed to live up to the promises
made to Nigerians.
Police Inspector brutalize journalist, Commissioner reacts
While the protest in Abuja was seemingly hitch-free, the protest
in Lagos was met with stiff opposition from the Nigerian Police
force, resulting in the brutalization of a journalist.
Men of the police force are said to have attacked Mr. Olukayode
Jaiyeola, a Punch photojournalist who was covering the protest
stages within the Maryland area of the metropolis.
A police inspector, Mr. Innocent Adadu, used a baton on
Jaiyeola’s head causing him to collapse immediately, with blood
gushing out of his fractured skull.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem
Odumosu, ordered the immediate detention of the inspector who is
attached to PMF 22 Ikeja.
The commissioner ordered that Inspector Adadu be tried in order
to serve as a deterrent to others who are fond of engaging in
unprofessional and unethical conduct.
Channels Television learned the commissioner
rushed to the scene and personally moved the injured journalist to
the Police Hospital.
While waiting to ensure that the injured journalist was given
immediate and best medical treatment, the police boss cut-off all
other engagements to stay throughout the journalist’s treatment and
subsequent discharge.
Many injured, dozens arrested?
There are claims that beyond the case of the journalist who was
severely beaten, many members of the Revolution Now Group who
protested on Thursday were injured and dozens were arrested across
the country.
In Lagos alone, there are reports suggesting that over 30
persons were arrested, a situation which has stirred another round
of protests all over social media.
The reports from Ibadan, Osogbo, Taraba, Benue, Kano, and other
states where the protest held, were all the same. Protesters were
harassed by security operatives with many getting beat up while
others were arrested.
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Reacting to the situation, the Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) in a series of tweets called on the
international community and the United Nations Human Rights Office
to publicly condemn what it termed ‘violations’.
SERAP also asked the international bodies to hold Nigerian
authorities to account for systematic violations of human rights
including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly.
Earlier in the week, the Coalition for Revolution (CORE), the
organisers of the #RevolutionNow protest announced plans to hold a
mass action against poor governance in Nigeria.
According to CORE, the protest scheduled for October 1st was a
demonstration to demand the reversal of “anti-people policies
implemented by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led
administration.”
In its statement on the matter, CORE stated that “These
harsh policies that have bored a burdensome hole into the pockets
of the Nigerian people are coming at a time when citizens are
recovering from the adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, a
global health crisis that was also mismanaged by the Buhari’s
government further plunging already struggling citizens into deeper
financial problems.
“It also comes at a time when there is an unprecedented
dictatorial-style crackdown on free speech, dissent, activism,
journalism, and the right to associate and congregate peacefully
and protest.”
The group demanded amongst other things the reversal of the
hike in the price of petrol from N148 to N151, an end to
“state-supervised and approved impunity under the watch of
President Muhammadu Buhari” and the sacking of all service chiefs
in the country due to their “proven incompetence in finding a
lasting solution to the Boko Haram insurgency which has claimed and
is still claiming the life of Nigerians daily.”
Following the cancellation of the Independence Day parade and a
ban on gatherings of more than 50 persons by the Lagos State
Government, the police had warned against people gathering in the
state for protests and rallies.
However, the organisers of the #RevolutionNow protest insisted
they will hold the mass action, a stand which led the police to
storm the rally venues in a bid to disperse the gathering.
On August 5, 2019, the #RevolutionNow protest was first staged
and the second edition on the same date this year, held across
major cities in the country.
The rather peaceful demonstrations have been met with a
clampdown by security operatives, resulting in arrests and
incarceration of many protesters.