FearlessOctober1: No going back on protest, organizers tell police

Just a few days to the nation’s 64th independence anniversary, organizers of the #FearlessOctober1 protest have insisted that the military, police, and the Department of State Services (DSS) would not stop them from going ahead with the planned demonstration.
Disclosing this to newsmen on Saturday, the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and the Director of Mobilization of the group, Damilare Adenola, said they have written to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to request security during the demonstration, noting that protest is a fundamental right they would not submit to any state agent.

They also said mobilization efforts had begun, adding that Nigerians were mobilizing from different parts of the country for the protest.
A wide section of Nigerians have indicated their plan to protest the hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the naira on Tuesday, October 1 as the nation celebrates its 64th independence.
Sanyaolu added, “We have also written to the Inspector General of Police, informing him of our protest locations and reminding him of the constitutional duty of the police to protect protesters as opposed to the repression we have witnessed in times past.”
The organizers disclosed that the FCT protest would be held at Eagle Square, the same venue of the Independence Day parade, while the Lagos protest would take place at the Ikeja Under Bridge, noting that the protest would be across the country and that only immediate reversal of fuel subsidy removal would dissuade them from the planned demonstration.

Meanwhile, The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun had directed the Force’s zonal and state commands to deploy men to strategic locations from Monday until a counter-order was given.
The IG also directed that the policemen dress in camouflage with hats, even as he asked Assistant Inspectors General of Police and Commissioners of Police to engage and discourage available civil society groups and individuals from participating in the protest.