By Our Reporter
As the nationwide protest in Nigeria enters its Day 2, protesters have criticized the Nigeria Police Force over its action aimed at forcefully dispersing the crowd in a bid to scuttle the protest.
At Asokoro in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, protesters were seen on social media running for their dear lives s police threw teargas canisters on them.
In other places like Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, reports say the protest turned violent after the police allegedly unleashed violence on the protesters killing some people, thus forcing the state governments to place curfew in the states in order to bring about some semblance of calm.
In Kano, social media reports say properties of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, were allegedly carted away by the protesters and the state secretariat in Kano torched. But, organisers of the protest have immediately debunked the allegation claiming that the people seen carting away properties and torching buildings were government thugs sent by the state itself in order to discredit the protest.
Mr. Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and one of the organisers of the protest speaking on Channels television, Thursday, absolved the protesters of any wrong doing while saying that any misdemeanour should be laid at the feet of the Inspector General of Police.
He said the protesters specifically in Abuja where he was physically present, merely refused to be confined inside the stadium, because of their distrust of the intentions of the Police, adding that besides that, the protesters were not guilty of any form of civil disobedience and conducted themselves respectfully.
An Abuja high court had earlier granted an injunction seeking to confine protesters to the MKO Abiola National Stadium.
Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, had on Thursday night urged protesters to obey the court order.
But leaders of the protesters say they had not been served with a copy of the said order.
In Lagos, Thursday, reports have it that the protest was well conducted devoid of any rancour or chaos. The protesters clearly spelt out their demands stressing that Nigerians were hungry and that they were calling on the president Tinubu to do the needful.
In Edo state, protesters in the course of their agitations uncovered a whare house where the state government allegedly stashed away the palliatives by the federal government for election purposes.
In contrast to the rest of the country, the southeast region was conspicuously quiet. The roads were free and devoid of any traffic. People obviously stayed in their homes without venturing out. Markets and shops were all locked. Recall that the southeast had earlier made it clear that they were not going to participate in the protest. Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia and Eboinyi states did not participate.
On Day 2 of the protest, Friday, some groups of protesters arrived at Ojota, carrying placards and donning T-shirts with inscriptions varying from ‘We are hungry’, to ‘Remember the protesters are your children..’ in apparent imitation of president Tinubu when he led a protest against Goodluck Jonathan’s government in 2014, reminding the police not to shoot at the protesters because they were their children, brothers and sisters.
One of the protesters pointedly spoke directly at the detachment of the police officers deployed at Ojota to keep the peace, saying; “look at them, they look hungrier than us. So why won’t they be for us?’ she asked.
Chants of ‘Hunger dey oo, hunger dey ooo” rend the air as protesters made their procession.
Reacting to reports of the high handedness of police following the protest, Human Rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, SAN, warned government against sponsoring thugs to disrupt the protest, advising that government should, instead engage with the protesters.
Some Northern leaders and notable Human Rights lawyers have called on president Tinubu to accede to the protesters requests and engage them.