The nationwide rallies, which entered their second day on Friday, will continue until President Bola Tinubu addresses the protesters’ demands.
Damilare Adenola, Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, a non-governmental organisation, stated this on Channels Television’s The August Protests program.
In a surprising development, Adenola clarified that human rights lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa does not represent their group, despite the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) having sought protection for them from security agencies prior to the rallies. He emphasised that his group would not suspend the planned 10-day protests, even though Adegboruwa urged the demonstrations be called off due to infiltration by fifth columnists aiming to cause chaos.
Adenola mentioned that the protests could extend beyond 10 days, depending on the government’s response. “Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa is not our lawyer and does not speak for us. He might have presented himself as a solicitor, but he is not in the same situation as the people protesting in the streets,” he said. “We are waiting for the government to respond and address our demands. Until then, the protests will continue.”
He added that the protests have demonstrated to Nigerians that they can hold their leaders accountable. When asked if the protests were being funded by any external parties, Adenola replied that “hunger and economic deprivation” were the driving forces behind the demonstrations.
Adenola criticized the Federal Government’s lack of action, stating that if they were sincere and concerned about the people’s plight, the President would have already addressed the protesters’ demands.
Youths Protest High Living Costs
On the first and second days of the protests, police officers were seen using tear gas to disperse demonstrators, primarily youths, which was condemned by civil society organizations (CSOs). The situation escalated when some hoodlums exploited the protests to loot public and private properties. To prevent further looting and violence, several state governments, including Kano, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Nasarawa, and Jigawa, imposed curfews in volatile local government areas.
According to Amnesty International, there have been some fatalities, and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, reported that a police officer was killed, some officers were injured, and police stations were burned.
Initiated on social media, the nationwide protests against economic hardship began on Thursday, August 1, 2024, and are scheduled to continue until August 10 across all states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The protests were sparked by rising food prices and basic commodities, exacerbated by the government’s policies on petrol subsidy removal and forex unification, leading to one of Nigeria’s worst inflation rates.
The protesters’ demands include the restoration of petrol subsidies and the previous forex regime. They also call for the government to address food shortages, unemployment, and excessive spending by officials. Additional demands include reducing the President’s cabinet and the general cost of governance, reforming the electoral body INEC and the anti-corruption agency EFCC, and intensifying efforts against corrupt politicians.