South West, Nigeria – Protests against economic hardship and bad governance have begun in South West geo-political zone in Nigeria. In Lagos state, Commercial capital of Nigeria, Protesters on Thursday defy court order in to express their grievances with government policies and economic conditions. A Lagos High Court had on Wednesday granted an ex parte application filed by the State’s Attorney General, Lawal Pedro (SAN), seeking to limit the nationwide protest in Lagos to specific locations.
Justice Emmanuel Ogundare issued an interim injunction restricting the protests to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and the Peace Park in Ketu. The injunction prohibits the defendants from gathering or conducting the protests in Lagos from August 1st to 10th, except at these two approved sites, and only during the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. However defiant demonstrators marched through Alausa to Ojota, Kudirat Abiola Way in Ikeja, among others to protest the hunger and hardship in the country.
The protesters who sang singing solidarity songs, carried placards with several inscriptions like ‘This hunger is too much,’ ‘Stop corporate capture,’ ‘Reverse electricity tariff now,’ and ‘We need new mass workers party to change Nigeria,’ among others. A woman was sighted carrying an empty pot at the protest, a potent symbol of hunger.
The nationwide protests also hit the largest city in West Africa, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital as various groups and organisations took over some strategic locations in city on Thursday morning. One of the groups began their protest in front of the University of Ibadan, while another group started at Iwo Road. Additional protests were initiated at Mokola Roundabout and Dugbe. One group also marched through the University of Ibadan, Bodija, and Secretariat Road. The procession that started at Mokola Roundabout passed through University College Hospital (UCH), Total Garden and Agodi Gate.
Moreso, many residents of Osogbo, the capital of Osun state braved early morning rain to take to the streets for the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, voicing their dissatisfaction with the state of the economy. The march began at Freedom Park in Osogbo and proceeded along MDS Road to Olaiya Junction. There, the protesters, who were accompanied by armed security personnel, addressed journalists. Despite the drizzle, the protesters, wielding a large banner that read “End Bad Governance in Nigeria,” continued to march. They sang songs to voice their frustrations over the poor state of the economy.
Meanwhile, in Ogun State few people participated in the procession. According to the State Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, David Ojelabi, only about 20 protesters engaged in a peaceful protest around Ibadan Road in Ijebu Ode City. Ojelabi stated this while addressing newsmenat the MKO Abiola International, the court-designated venue for the protesters in Abeokuta. He added that there was no report in Abeokuta, the capital city, as at press time.
