Security agencies across Nigeria are on high alert today as Nigerians and activist groups stage nationwide protests to mark the June 12 Democracy Day.
The planned demonstrations, led by the Take-It-Back Movement and Youth Rights Campaign, are expected to hold in major cities including Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, and Enugu.
The groups say the protests aim to draw attention to the rising cost of living and poverty, growing insecurity, shrinking civic space, and what they describe as worsening governance under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued earlier this week, the Take-It-Back Movement declared June 12 a “National Day of Resistance.” Also, its National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, while speaking with journalists on Wednesday, said the protests are intended to highlight increasing violent attacks in states such as Benue, Plateau and Borno as well as what the group calls “hunger governance” brought about by subsidy removal and currency devaluation by the incumbent administration.
“All Nigerians from different walks of life have been mobilised, Nigerians are coming to the streets tomorrow (today) to demand an end to bad governance.
“Nigerians have nothing to lose. Nigerians have been beaten and battered. We are like people who are on the ground; we should have no fear of falling. It is also their constitutional right to protest.”
According to Sanyaolu, the National Coordinator of Take-It-Back Movement, the protest would take place in at least 20 locations nationwide.
“In Abuja, we will converge at Eagle Square by 8.00 am. In Lagos, we have four locations: Badagry, Maryland, Agbara, and Toll Gate, all starting by 7am.
“In Akure, Ondo State, we will gather at Cathedral Junction by 8am, and in Benin City, Edo State, at the Museum Ground by 9am. In Niger State, the venue is Gida Matasa at 8am.
“In Yobe, we will meet at the Maiduguri Bypass Roundabout in Damaturu by 7:30am, while in Oyo State, it is Mokola Roundabout in Ibadan by 8am.
“In Bauchi, the protest will be held opposite the Bauchi School of ACR, Yelewam Makaranta, by 8 am. In Osun State, it will be at Olaiya Junction in Osogbo,” Sanyaolu explained.
The Youth Rights Campaign, in a similar statement, accused the government of “two years of hunger, hardship and insecurity” and called for peaceful street action across the country.
In response, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), have deployed officers across strategic locations to forestall any breakdown of law and order. In states like Lagos, Delta, Edo, and the Federal Capital Territory, patrol teams and rapid response squads have reportedly been activated.
Authorities have warned against any unauthorised protests, citing existing regulations on public gatherings. However, organisers insist the demonstrations will be peaceful and are protected under the constitutional right to freedom of expression and assembly.
Today’s events coincide with Democracy Day, which commemorates the June 12, 1993, election said to have been won by late business mogul and African philanthropist, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola. The election which held on this day in 1993, was then annulled by the military dictatorship of General Ibrahim Babangida, setting off a decade of political turmoil for Nigeria. Since 2018, the day has been recognised as a national public holiday. Also, Abiola’s victory has since been officially affirmed by the Nigerian government, albeit posthumously.
President Tinubu is expected to deliver an address at the National Assembly today to mark the occasion as the administration cancelled an earlier scheduled military parade in Capital, Abuja.
As of this morning, no violent incidents have been reported, though security remains tight around some key protest routes and government buildings.
