#Fearless in October protests: Soldiers, police crack down on protesters in Rivers, Abuja, Kano
By Clifford Ndujihe, Dayo Johnson, Olasunkanmi Akoni, Dan Abia, Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo, Davies Iheamnachor, Bashir Bello & Luminous Jannamike
LAGOS — Some protesters against bad governance had a raw deal in the hands of the army, police, other security agents and even political thugs, yesterday, in Rivers, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.As the protesters actualised their vow of going ahead with the October 1 action with various themes, such as ‘#FearlessInOctober’, and ‘#National Day of Survival,’ the tough-talking security agents, especially the Police, kept their part of “ensuring law and order” and took steps to abort or crush the protest.
The outcome was a crackdown on the protesters, of which five leaders were arrested in Kano. They were also tear-gassed and chased about in Abuja and Port Harcourt.
However, there were peaceful protests in Lagos, Ibadan and Ondo, with the organisers and collaborating civil society organisations, CSOs, vowing to sustain the struggle against bad governance in the country.
The October 1 protest is a continuation of the #EndBadGovernance protests held between August 1 and 10 in response to the economic hardship experienced by many Nigerians.
The #EndBadGovernance protests were met with resistance from security operatives, setting the stage for yesterday’s confrontation.
