June 12 Demonstrations: Protest Leaders Reveal Venues, Press for Government Accountability

A list of protest locations nationwide has been released by the Take It Back Movement in advance of Nigeria’s Democracy Day on June 12.
According to reports, the organization urged Nigerians to demonstrate against the country’s economic suffering, insecurity, and what it claims is the degradation of human freedoms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Juwon Sanyaolu, the movement’s national coordinator, told Punch on Monday that demonstrations would take place in at least 20 locations around the country, including in the North, South, East, and West.

We shall meet at Eagle Square in Abuja around 8:00 a.m. We have four locations in Lagos: Agbara, Maryland, Badagry, and Toll Gate, and they all open at 7:00 am,” he stated.
Other sites are Gida Matasa in Niger State (8 am), Museum Ground in Benin City (9 am), and Cathedral Junction in Akure, Ondo State (8 am).

Sanyaolu provided a list of several Delta State locations, including:

Sapele’s Amukpe Roundabout

Asaba’s Summit Junction and Koka Junction

Ughelli’s Otovwodo Junction

Warri’s DSC Roundabout, PTI Junction, and Effurun Roundabout

Abraka Police Station Junction

Additional verified locations:

Ibadan, Oyo State’s Mokola Roundabout (8 am)

Borno’s Kasuwan Gamboru Flyover (8 am)

Osogbo, Osun State’s Olaiya Junction

Yola, Adamawa’s Juppu Jam Road

Damaturu, Yobe’s Maiduguri Bypass Roundabout

ACR, Bauchi’s Bauchi School (Yelewam Makaranta, 8 am)

According to the group, the protests are intended to reassert citizens’ rights and demand responsibility.

“We are using our democratic rights on June 12th. The security and well-being of the populace are the government’s top priorities, as stated explicitly in the Constitution. Under Tinubu, that hasn’t worked,” Sanyaolu said.

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He asserted that since Tinubu gained power, insecurity had killed over 10,000 Nigerians, citing an Amnesty International report.

There are more over 40,000 displaced individuals in Benue State and about 68,000 in Plateau. He claimed that while Nigerians are suffering, the government doesn’t seem to care.

The Tinubu administration was also charged by the movement with stifling free expression and stifling dissenting opinions.

“The civic space is being attacked under this regime. Critics of the government are being harassed. We wish to combat this trend and increase awareness,” he continued.

Sanyaolu cautioned security forces to defend demonstrators instead of suppressing them.

“The Constitution guarantees the right to protest, and the Supreme Court upholds this right,” he continued. It is the responsibility of the police to keep demonstrators safe.

He urged Nigerians to oppose poor government and “reclaim the soul of the country.”