IG, Protest Organisers Disagree

Emerging details on the virtual meeting held between the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun and organizer of the nationwide indicate that the parties were unable to find a convergent point on the modus of the said protest.

Reports say the organizers disagreed with the suggestion by the IG that the protest be confined for reasons of public safety, insisting the police do not have the needed manpower to manage the protest. 

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, who spoke with Punch Correspondent on the outcome of the meeting, also attended by Femi Falana, SAN, explained that the group rejected the suggestion for a restricted protest because it infringed on the right of the protesters. According to him, restricting the protesters is against the provision of the country's constitution which guarantees the people's right to conduct peaceful protests.

“We agreed that the citizens of Nigeria are entitled to protest and that the police would not do anything that would hinder or jeopardize the exercise of that right. That was a basic thing we all agreed upon.

"We also agreed that police have a statutory duty to offer protection to citizens whenever they protest.

“Our area of disagreement was the area of confinement. The police prefer, based on the venue sent to them, we should protest in a confined arena. We insisted that we have a right to rally and embark on procession.

"They said they don’t have the manpower that would go round across all cities.”

 Meanwhile, security operatives have taken over the Eagle Square, Abuja, one of the listed convergent venues for the protest.

The operatives, comprising armed soldiers, policemen and a number of plainclothes operatives from other sister agencies, have taken over the long stretch of the Central Business District, leading in and out of the square, giving the impression that the federal government is not taking the proposed protest lightly.

Reports also indicate that the situation in Lagos and some other parts of the country is the same.