A Police Wireless signal exclusively accessed by West Africa Weekly has revealed how the Nigerian Police Force mobilised its men ahead of peaceful protests by civil society groups on Democracy Day, June 12.
Civil Society groups and other concerned Nigerians are currently out in various locations across the country, protesting against widespread hunger and economic hardship. The protests are ongoing amidst a heavy, intimidating security presence.
The wireless signal indicated that the NPF had gotten wind of the planned protests since Monday and had mobilised its personnel to suppress them.
From the language of the signal, the Police are paranoid over a scale of protest similar to that witnessed during the #EndSARS protest in October 2020.
“The #EndSARS violent protest is still very fresh in our memory. The recurrent must be avoided at all costs,” the statement read.
The signal, distributed to commands across the country, asked commands to “mobilise well-kitted and equipped personnel… to take over all strategic points.”
One of the coordinators of the protests in Lagos, Sanyaolu Juwon of the Take It Back (TIB) movement, was reportedly abducted by police officers on Tuesday night, and he’s yet to be released.
Ironically, peaceful protesters are being intimidated by the Police on the day Nigeria is marking Democracy Day. President Bola Tinubu, in his address earlier today, admitted to being a beneficiary of the historic struggles for Nigeria’s democracy.
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