Sowore’s ‘Revolution Now’ protest an act of terrorism, says Police IG Adamu

The police have warned Nigerians to stay away from the ‘RevolutionNow’ protest planned for August 5 by Omoyele Sowore and other Nigerian rights activists, saying the demonstration would amount to a felony and terrorism.

Police chief Muhammad Adamu said in a statement Saturday afternoon that the ‘RevolutionNow’ protest could incite anarchy in Nigeria, warning that anyone who may want to join it to have a rethink.

The social media have been awash with preparation for the protest on August 5. Mr Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, has been the main figure of the planned demonstration.

Mr Sowore and organisers said the demonstration would be peaceful, and they released a list of demands that they saw as necessary to take Nigeria out of its current malaise.

Nigeria is currently ranked to have the highest number of extremely poor people in the world, with the World Bank expressing fears that the country’s huge population could linger in multi-dimensional poverty.

Insecurity has also afflicted the country in recent months, with Boko Haram, killer herdsmen, armed bandits and deadly kidnappers having a field day.

The Buhari administration and security forces said they had been working heavily to address the multi-faceted crises, calling on citizens to be patient for the efforts to yield the desired result.

Mr Sowore and other members of the ‘RevolutionNow’ protest said Nigerians should ignore further excuses and take to the street in peaceful demand a better society for themselves and future generation.

At no time did the ‘RevolutionNow’ activists call for violence, and they drew inspiration from recent peaceful demonstrations in Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, and other parts of the world.

Armed officials believed to be personnel of the SSS, in the early hours of Saturday, took Mr Sowore into custody allegedly in connection with the coming protest.

A witness, who identified himself as Mr Sowore’s driver, said the officers left in a manner typical of deadly kidnappers.

Lagos-based human rights activist, Inibehe Effiong, called for Mr Sowore’s immediate release, saying a call for revolution “is not treasonable under any guise.”

However, the organisers of #RevolutionNow said the protest would go on despite Mr Sowore’s arrest.

In their statement, the police acknowledged Nigerians have a constitutional right to speech and peaceful assembly, but warned, still, that the protest planned by Mr Sowore should be scrapped because it may turn violent.

The statement claimed that a video had been circulating online that called for violence during the ‘RevolutionNow’ protest, although the video was attributed to a name not known to be associated with Mr Sowore or any of the multiple leaders of the planned march.

– Premium Times