The Take It Back Movement calls for nationwide protests on June 12, citing rising insecurity, economic hardship, and shrinking civic space, despite a police ban on public demonstrations

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Take It Back Movement has announced its intention to hold a nationwide protest on June 12, aiming to highlight Nigeria’s escalating insecurity, diminishing civic space, and worsening economic hardship.

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In a statement released by its National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, the movement urged Nigerians to reject official Democracy Day celebrations and instead take to the streets in peaceful protest.

Sanyaolu called on workers, students, civil society groups, artisans, and members of the diaspora to join the planned demonstrations across state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory, insisting there was “no going back” on the action.

This insistence, however, directly contradicts a ban on public protests issued by the Nigeria Police.

“This June 12, we march not just for ourselves, but for the slain in Benue, the displaced in Plateau, the silenced in detention, and the starving masses abandoned by a corrupt elite,” the statement declared.

The movement heavily condemned the rampant insecurity in the Middle Belt and northern parts of the country, pointing to continuous attacks in regions like Benue, Plateau, and Southern Kaduna. Sanyaolu lamented that entire communities had been obliterated, leaving thousands displaced, while the government either overlooked the crisis or denied its severity.

“In Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, and across the Middle Belt, mass killings continue with terrifying frequency,” Sanyaolu stated.

“Lives are snuffed out without consequences. Internally displaced persons multiply, while perpetrators roam free.

The bloodletting has become a routine, and the state remains complicit, through its inaction, negligence, or outright denial. This is not a democracy. This is organised cruelty.”

Furthermore, Sanyaolu criticised the Federal Government’s alleged crackdown on dissent, citing arrests of protesters, detention of activists, and the targeting of journalists and social media users under the Cybercrime Act.

He described these actions as part of a broader campaign to suppress opposition and stifle democratic expression.

“Across the federation, the signs of democratic collapse are unmistakable. Democracy, which was won through struggle, sweat, and blood, has been dismantled by the very forces that once promised change,” Sanyaolu asserted.

“Nigeria stands today not as a democratic nation, but as a country at war with its people. Freedom of speech is under attack.

The state has turned on its citizens with an unrelenting campaign of intimidation and censorship. Journalists are harassed, activists are detained and citizens are arrested for social media posts.”

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He concluded that through the “weaponisation of the Cybercrime Act,” government agents were now “stalking the digital footprints of dissenters, silencing legitimate criticism and criminalising free expression.”