A northern advocacy group, the Northern Initiative for Growth, has formally notified the Inspector General of Police at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja of their plan to conduct a peaceful protest across Northern Nigeria on August 1, 2024.
The group intends to highlight pressing regional concerns and call for significant reforms.
“This protest is our democratic right to address critical issues affecting our region,” said a spokesperson from the Northern Initiative for Growth. “We seek to foster positive change through peaceful means.”
In preparation for the demonstration, the group has requested the Inspector General of Police to ensure maximum security and order throughout the event. They have specifically asked for all State Police Commissioners in Northern Nigeria to deploy adequate personnel along designated protest routes.
“It is imperative that the constitutional rights of all participants are respected,” emphasized the spokesperson. “We urge law enforcement to exercise restraint and avoid any form of excessive force.”
The initiative underscored their commitment to a peaceful protest environment, expressing confidence in the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to effectively enforce necessary security measures.
“We rely on your leadership to protect protesters and uphold law and order,” the spokesperson continued. “This protest should serve as a constructive dialogue for change without unnecessary disturbances.”
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters reported on Tuesday that Omoyele Sowore, the convener of #RevolutionNow, released a list of 14 demands from Nigerians to President Bola Tinubu’s administration. These demands aim to address the country’s governance challenges and are part of the upcoming “Days of Rage” protests scheduled from late July to August 2024.
Sowore outlined the demands, which include:
1. Scrapping the 1999 Constitution and replacing it with a people-made constitution through a Sovereign National Conference and a National Referendum.
2. Abolishing the Senate and making lawmaking a part-time endeavor with only the House of Representatives.
3. Setting a minimum wage of at least N250,000 monthly for Nigerian workers.
4. Investing heavily in education and providing grants to students, with an emphasis on free and compulsory education.
5. Releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally and demilitarizing the South East.
6. Renationalizing publicly owned enterprises sold to government officials and cronies.
7. Reinstating a corruption-free subsidy regime to reduce hunger and poverty.
8. Probing past and present leaders who have looted the treasury and using recovered funds for education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
9. Restructuring Nigeria to accommodate diversity, resource control, decentralization, and regional development.
10. Reforming security agencies to prevent human rights violations and enhance citizens’ security.
11. Establishing a Special Energy Fund for corruption-free power sector development.
12. Reconstituting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove corrupt and partisan individuals.
13. Investing massively in public works and industrialization to employ the youth.
14. Shaking up the judiciary to remove corrupt judges and officers.
Sowore is urging nationwide mobilization to join the movement, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the 2019 #RevolutionNow demonstration.