October 1 protest organisers vow to hit streets as police beef up security

Despite the warning by the police, organisers of the October 1 protest have vowed to hit the streets in large numbers to register their displeasure against the lingering hardship in the country.

One of the leaders of the protest, Omoyele Sowore, a presidential candidate in the 2023 general election has insisted that the demonstration would hold across the 36 states of the federation.

Sowore said this while giving updates about the protest on his X on Monday, September 30, 2024.

“NO GOING BACK! #FearlessInOctober” he wrote.

He stated that the nationwide protest would hold at the Eagle Square Abuja, adding that the demonstration would be peaceful.

“The protests will hold across all parts of Nigeria because the scale of the devastation, hunger, insecurity, and hardship that this government has unleashed on Nigerians is national. I will emphasise again that these will be peaceful protests, as they’ve always been.

“The last protests were peaceful, yet the government met the protesters with batons and bullets.

“We will not be deterred, though. Our only weapon is truth, and no amount of force or violence will prevent us from speaking truth to power,” he said.

Sowore called on Nigerians to join the protest, saying the hunger pangs in the country should trigger them to troop out.

While highlighting Nigeria’s problems which include naira devaluation, food crisis, flooding, insecurity, and the petrol price hike, Sowore said nobody should be surprised that Nigerians are out to protest against ‘government failure to address the issues.’

He said, “We are prepared to come out to protest. We are determined to do so peacefully. I can assure you that thousands of voices will be raised in protest on October 1.

“The pangs of hunger and groans of pain of the Nigerian people will not be drowned out by the government,” he said during an interview session shared on his handle.

Police warn protesters

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has warned against the breakdown of law and order during the protest.

The force has also beefed up security in major cities including Lagos, Minna, and Kano ahead of the demonstration.

In a statement on Monday, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola, said the Force won’t take it lightly with troublemakers during the protest.