THE Nigerian police have, as usual, tear-gassed peaceful protesters who are demonstrating the abuse of the Cybercrime Act by the police and government institutions. The demonstrators are also opposing the illegal declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
The protesters, led by the Take-It-Back Movement leader, Mr Omoyele Sowore, and lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Deji Adeyanju, defied the police on Monday and thronged the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and and several parts of the Nigeria, decrying the state of lawlessness and hardship in the nation.
A statement by the Take-It-Back National Coordinator, Mr Juwon Sanyaolu, said the protest was targeted at resisting “increasing authoritarianism” and rising inflation and insecurity in the nation.
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The protesters carried placards with inscriptions, “Say No To Repression Now,” “I am not a bandit,” “Let Us Breathe,” and “Let Rivers People Breathe,” among others. But they were dispersed by peaceful protesters with tear gas in the Maitama area of Abuja, and in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Police officers also fired teargas cannisters at protesters gathered at the Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt.
“The ignoble @PoliceNG officers were deployed and they attacked us during today’s #RepealTheCyberCrimeAct protest in Abuja. #EgbetokinMustGo#RevolutionNow,” Mr Sowore posted on his X page.
Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the act, saying that it should be investigated. “Amnesty is deeply concerned by security forces’ attacks on protesters in Abuja and Port Harcourt. Protesters and journalists were beaten in Port Harcourt. In Damaturu Yobe state 4 activists have been unlawfully arrested. These atrocities are unacceptable & must be investigated.”
Protesters are demonstrating against the Cybercrime Act of 2015, which now empowers the police or other law enforcement agencies of the government to detain, harass and charge journalists and civil society groups when they carry out their lawful duties.
Previous protests under Tinubu
In October 2024, the Take-It-Back Movement had mobilised Nigerians for the #FearlessInOctober protest, which was a continuation of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest which took place across Nigeria in August.
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Nigerians protested against the cost-of-living crisis bedevilling the nation. Cost of staple food such as bread, garri, beans, and rice had more than doubled in the previous one year, thanks to the petrol subsidy removal and the floating of the exchange rate market by President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
Protesters said the government had not provided sufficient palliatives for citizens struggling to have two square means in 24 hours due to Mr Tinubu’s twin policies.
“The polices are good but they are ill-timed,” said a Rivers State-based human rights activist, Mr Chioke George.
In August 2024, an earlier #EndBadGovernance protest had taken place across the nation, with Nigerians demonstrating against high cost of living amid stagnant wages and declining incomes.
Tinubu participated in a previous protest
Mr Bola Tinubu joined the famous 2012 protest against President Goodluck Jonathan’s petrol subsidy removal but he appears to be doing everything possible to block demonstrations under his watch.
On January 2, 2012, Mr Tinubu joined the Occupy Nigeria protest to force President Jonathan to rescind his decision to raise premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol price from N87 to N145. Former Nigerian Labour Congress President, Mr Adams Oshiomole; former President Muhammadu Buhari; Nobel Laurette, Prof Wole Soyinka; former APC Chairman, Mr John Oyegun; former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, among many others, were all part of the protest.
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During the demonstration, Mr Tinubu had accused President Jonathan of breaking the social contract with the people, which he personally signed, noting that President Jonathan must not remove petrol subsidies.
“Government must modify the sudden and complete removal of the subsidy. Either we restore the subsidy or use the funds for other social purposes,” Mr Tinubu said on January 11, 2012, during the protest.
“If we are to use the funds for other programmes, these programmes shall be placed on parallel track with the subsidy. As more of these programmes are ready to go on line, then the subsidy can be lifted in phases. In this way, the public is assured government will not lower its total expenditure on their behalf, thus maintaining the spirit central to the social contract.”
Change of course after being president
Eleven years after these comments, Mr Tinubu became president of Nigeria, winning the controversial 2023 presidential election. However, he has done exactly what he accused former President Jonathan of, removing petrol subsidies that had kept fuel at less than N200 per litre.
He had announced that “subsidy is gone” on the day of his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
In 2012, Nigeria’s subsidy payment stood at N1.35 trillion, according to the defunct Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). Under President Tinubu, the nation paid N3.6 trillion in 2023 and N5.4 trillion in 2024 in petrol subsidies despite denials by government officials. The price of PMS is at over N900 per litre at several filling stations today.
Rivers of illegality
President Bola Tinubu illegally declared a state of emergency in Rivers State last month after lampooning former President Goodluck Jonathan for doing the same thing in 2013.
In a nationwide broadcast in March, President Tinubu removed the democratically elected Governor Sim Fubara and his deputy, Ms Ngozi Odu. He also suspended all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State, appointing Admiral Ibokette Ibas as the administrator for Rivers State.
This was basically because of the fight between Governor Fubara and former governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike. Rather than mediate between the two, Mr Tinubu took sides with his minister and lampooned Governor Fubara for igniting the crisis.
NBA President, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), condemned the declaration of the state of emergency, saying it was unconstitutional. “The NBA is gravely concerned about the purported suspension by the President of the Governor of Rivers State, the Deputy Governor, and the Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months,” the statement reads. “The 1999 Constitution does not grant the President the power to remove an elected governor, deputy governor, or members of a state’s legislature under the guise of a state of emergency.”
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The NBA said Section 305 of the constitution empowered the president to declare emergencies but included strict conditions and procedural safeguards that must be followed. The NBA questioned whether the situation in Rivers State met any of the six constitutional thresholds for such a declaration, which included war, external aggression, breakdown of public order beyond conventional legal remedies, threats to national existence, or natural disaster.
