‘Take It Back’ Protest Holds In Lagos, Oyo, Rivers

Demonstrators under the aegis of the Take-It-Back Movement on Monday defied police warning and staged protests in Lagos, Oyo, and Rivers states.

Clad in their signature orange berets, the protesters began their rally in Lagos at the Ikeja Under Bridge, marching through major roads in the state capital while chanting solidarity songs, under the watchful eyes of police officers.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had earlier urged the movement to cancel its planned nationwide protest, describing the timing as “ill-conceived and mischievous.”

However, in a swift response, leader of the movement, Omoyele Sowore dismissed the police’s concerns that the protest was intended to undermine the National Police Day celebration.

The ‘Take It Back’ movement has been active in organizing protests and making demands on various issues including the state of the Nigerian economy, the state of emergency in Rivers State, among other issues.

In Oyo, the protest held peacefully in Ibadan, the state capital with security operatives on standby to avert any breach of the peace.

The situation, however, turned awry in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, where police fired teargas at protesters at the Isaac Boro Park.

“Nobody can tell us where not to gather, we are Rivers people,” the young demonstrators told the policemen who warned them to movs to another site.

One of the protesters had told reporters that they were not out for violence but to express their grievances to the government, which include immediate repeal of the Cybercrime Act and the return of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to power.

“As it is, we have no government. This government in Rivers State is alien to our people; it is unconstitutional. We are here to demand that our governor comes back to office and lead us appropriately. We have a social contract with the governor and not the sole administrator. This is democracy,” he said.