Do Not Provoke Us – Group Sends Warning To Police Amidst Planned Nationwide Protest

The Take-It-Back movement has vowed not to go back on its planned nationwide protest scheduled for Monday, April 7.

The Movement had called for a nationwide demonstration to address what they described as the “authoritarianism of President Bola Tinubu administration, abuse of human rights, and the misuse of the Cybercrime Act.”

The protest is tagged: “Nationwide protest against bad governance and free speech suppression.”

However, the Lagos State Police Command issued a directive to all commanders and officers within its jurisdiction, alerting them to the protest.

Speaking with Punch, the National Coordinator of the movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, said the planned protest would hold despite the security alert.

He disclosed that the core demands of the protest include: the repeal of the Cybercrime Act and the end of emergency rule in Rivers State, which he described as a form of military dictatorship under Tinubu’s administration.

Sanyaolu said, “We are going ahead with our planned protest. The protest is nationwide, and we are protesting against the oppression of President Bola Tinubu government. We are protesting against the pushback of this government on some of the democratic rights of the citizens and the authoritarianism of this government.

“What we are protesting to ensure that the civic gate is kept open, to ensure that Nigerians can freely continue to organise against systemic injustice and bad governance that have been the hallmark of this regime.”

Sanyaolu cautioned the police and other security agencies not to provoke violence, saying, “We want to caution the police and other security agencies not to provoke protesters by introducing violence into a peaceful protest. They should just do their job and ensure the safety of everyone during the protest.”

He stated that the protesters would resist any attempt by security agencies to disrupt the protest.