Heavily armed security operatives on Thursday morning barricaded the main entrance of the National Assembly Complex in Abuja to prevent protesters from gaining access as nationwide demonstrations mark Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
The protest, spearheaded by the Take It Back Movement alongside several civil society organisations, aims to spotlight what the organisers describe as “two years of misrule, hardship, and insecurity” under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Originally slated to hold at Eagle Square, the demonstrators shifted the venue to the National Assembly, where President Tinubu is expected to address a joint session of lawmakers as part of the June 12 celebrations.
The National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, clarified on Wednesday that the change of protest venue did not alter the group’s message.
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“That we earlier said the protest would hold at Eagle Square doesn’t foreclose the fact that Nigerians cannot organise themselves at the National Assembly to protest the two years of misrule under Tinubu,” Sanyaolu said.
“The unprecedented hardship and insecurity we have experienced under his government are alarming. So Nigerians will be turning out nationwide to protest against this, and the National Assembly is one of those spaces Nigerians can exercise their constitutional rights.”
Upon arrival at the venue, a heavy deployment of security forces, including operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and armed police officers. The gate was blocked with iron barricades and a large truck, completely denying access to the complex.
