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Heavy Police Deployment in Abuja as Hunger Protest Reaches Peak
As the Hunger Protest reaches its peak on Saturday, Abuja is seeing a significant increase in police presence. Hundreds of operatives from the Nigeria Police Force have been strategically deployed to key locations throughout the capital.
The heightened security measures were put in place on Friday evening to manage the anticipated climax of the demonstrations.
In preparation, major entry points to high-profile areas such as Eagle Square, the Federal Secretariat, the National Assembly Complex, the Supreme Court, and the Presidential Villa, which are all situated within the Three Arms Zone, have been reinforced with multiple security checkpoints.
This increased vigilance extends to major roads leading to the MKO Abiola Stadium, initially designated as the main venue for the #EndBadGovernance protests.
On Friday, the protest organizers announced plans to stage a one-million-man march across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, marking the culmination of their demonstrations.
The protests, which began the previous Thursday, have been calling for the reinstatement of the fuel subsidy, among other demands.
The demonstrations have become increasingly violent in several states, including Kano, Plateau, Niger, Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno.
Reports indicate that at least 15 individuals have been killed, numerous others injured, and several properties damaged during the unrest.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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