Police in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, have used tear gas to disperse protesters in the Maitama area of the city on Monday.
The demonstrators, who had gathered to voice their concerns over a range of national issues, were forced to scatter as police deployed tear gas.
The protest is part of a nationwide demonstration organised by the Take-It-Back Movement and other civil society groups. It began earlier in the day to highlight issues including the alleged misuse of the Cybercrime Act, the country’s increasing economic hardship, and the situation in Rivers State, which organisers have described as a “state of emergency.”
Eyewitnesses reported that protesters carried placards with slogans such as “Stop the Repression” and “Let Us Breathe” as they marched through the streets of the Federal Capital Territory.
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore was also present at the protest in solidarity with the movement.
In a statement released last Friday, the National Coordinator of the Take-It-Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, said the nationwide action was intended to resist what he called the “increasing authoritarianism” of the current administration and to demand urgent relief for Nigerians struggling with inflation and insecurity.
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