Organisers of the #FearlessOctober1 protest have declared that the Police, Department of State Services (DSS), and the military would not stop them from embarking on the demonstration as planned.
The organisers have also written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to request security during the demonstration, noting that protest is a fundamental right which they would not submit to any State agent.
The nation will celebrate its 64th independence on Tuesday, October 1, the day some Nigerian youths have taken to protest the hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the naira.
National Coordinator of the #Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and Director of Mobilisation of the group, Damilare Adenola, said mobilisation efforts had begun, adding that Nigerians were mobilising from different parts of the country for the protest.
According to Sanyaolu, “We have also written to the IGP, informing him of our protest locations and reminding him of the Constitutional duty of the police to protect protesters, as opposed to the repression we have witnessed in times past”.
The organisers noted that the protest would be across the country, adding that only ‘immediate reversal of fuel subsidy removal’ would dissuade them from the demonstration.
Meanwhile, the IGP, Egbetokun, had directed the Force Zonal and State Commands to deploy men from today Monday to strategic locations until a stand-down order was given.
