Organisers of the nationwide protest against hardship have listed points of convergence for public meetings, rallies, and processions across the country.
Despite this, a Lagos High Court has restricted protesters in Lagos to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and Peace Park, Ketu area of the state.
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had asked organisers of the protest to submit the contact details of those organizing the protest, as well as designated points and routes of the protest.
However, the IGP later ordered senior officers to protect protesters in the planned nationwide protest.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the Nigerian project continued to call for both organisers of the protest and the federal government to exercise restraint over the protest, especially given the pro-government protests in some parts of the country on Monday.
This call was made by Catholic Bishops, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, and the former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Uche Secondus, among others.
Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN, solicitor to one of the protest organisers, listed the points of convergence for the rallies in a letter to the IGP. Some of the proposed locations include Eagle Square, Abuja; Alausa Park, Lagos, and Opposite Wema Bank; and Akpakpava Lane, Benin City.
Following a preemptive exparte application, a Lagos High Court restricted protesters in Lagos to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and Peace Park, Ketu area of the state in order to maintain public safety.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Tunde Rahman, affirmed the rights of Nigerians to peaceful protest but condemned the organisers of the protest.
He mentioned that there was no bad government in Nigeria, but a thinking one.
Ahead of the planned nationwide protests, the federal government declared all its 256 prisons across the country as “red zones,” which sanctity must not be violated under any guise.
The federal government warned against a possible breakdown of law and order if the sanctity of the prisons is tampered with.
One of the protest organisers, human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, asked the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, to withdraw soldiers deployed across the Federal Capital Territory and other cities, ahead of the proposed protest.
Similarly, banks and other employers in the financial sector advised workers to be cautious in the course of their work ahead of the planned protest.
The Anglican Primate, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, urged security agencies to prevent a repeat of the #EndSARS horror and called for restraint and caution for all the organizers and those who want to participate in the demonstration.
The Catholic Bishops of the Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province called on President Bola Tinubu to respond promptly to the demands of Nigerians and urged the government and sub-regional governments to work hard to address issues such as dashed hopes, outrageous cost of living, and ineffectiveness of the rule of law in curbing criminality among public officials.
The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, rejected the planned nationwide protest and warned that a 10-day shutdown of Nigeria would be counterproductive and disruptive, further expressing concerns over the potential for violence and hijacking of the protests.
In response to these developments, the former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Uche Secondus, said President Tinubu lacked the moral authority to stop the planned protest, emphasizing that protests remain the most potent democratic platform through which the consciousness of nations can be aroused and leadership can be compelled to act right in the interest of citizens.
