Police, DSS, Army Should Submit Names Of Personnel Deployed For #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Protests So That They Can Be Held Accountable – Sowore
The IGP also asked all the groups planning to carry out the proposed nationwide protest to abide by certain conditions which include submitting their details to the Commissioner of Police in the states.
Human rights activist and Convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore has stated that the upcoming nationwide “Day of Rage” protest against exacerbating hunger and misgovernance in Nigeria is not subject to so-called conditions as mentioned by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Friday.
The protest tagged, #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria is meant to highlight the challenges of misgovernance in the country, which had plunged the people of Nigeria into unimaginable poverty.
It has been scheduled for August 1 to 10, 2024.
SaharaReporters had reported that President Bola Tinubu urged Nigerians to shelve the planned protest, noting that it was not necessary.
It had been reported that the Nigeria’s secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) had been hounding activists and those observed to have been promoting the protest on social media.
Several of them had been arrested. While some had been released on conditions that they would not participate or further promote the protest, others are still in custody.
On other hand, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, after meeting with the police management team on Friday had directed various police commands to liaise with the military and other sister security agencies to ensure that no protest holds in their jurisdiction.
The IGP also directed various commands and formations to raid all vulcanisers shops across the country and seize all unused tyres so that protesters do not use it to make burnfire on highways and important places.
The IGP also asked all the groups planning to carry out the proposed nationwide protest to abide by certain conditions which include submitting their details to the Commissioner of Police in the states.
Reacting, Sowore, who was the former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2019 and 2023, said on his X account that the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria #DaysOfRage revolt was not subject to any condition, insisting that the police could not dictate to Nigerians on how to organise themselves during a mass action.
He urged the Inspector General of Police, the Nigerian military and other security agencies to submit the list of their officers and men that would be deployed to cover the protest to their lawyers to enable them know who to hold accountable should anything go wrong during the mass action.
Sowore wrote: “The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria #DaysOfRage revolt is not subject to any conditions; the @PoliceNG cannot dictate to Nigerians how to organize themselves during a mass action of this magnitude.
“However, the IG of @Policeng is advised to submit the list of police officers that would be deployed to cover these direct action to our lawyers so that we’d know who to hold accountable should anything go wrong;
“The same applies to the @OfficialDSSNG, @HQNigerianArmy and any security agency(IRS) that may be deployed by the state or federal government of Nigeria.
@daily_trust #NoGoingBack #RevolutionNow”
