A showdown between security forces and #EndSARS activists may be in the offing as the protesters yesterday unfolded plans to scale up the campaign to force the federal government to meet their demands to stop alleged police brutality, among others, by blocking critical road arteries in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Lagos, the country’s economic nerve centre.
The protesters, in a tweet, said today, they would block three of the FCT’s most strategic highways: the Kubwa- Zuba Expressway, the Abuja International Airport Road, and the Abuja-Keffi Road.
The threat came on the heels of an allegation by the federal government that hoodlums and people with ulterior motives have hijacked the ongoing #EndSARS campaign to destabilise the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed, while featuring in a radio programme at the weekend, wondered why the protest is still going on despite the fact that the federal government had met some of the campaigners’ demands.
He warned that the federal government could not allow the disruption to social and economic activities to persist.
He spoke just as government officials stepped up efforts to de-escalate the tension generated by the protest that has disrupted socio-economic activities.
In continuation of the troubleshooting process, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, met with the president at the State House, Abuja.
The duo also called on the protesters to discontinue their nationwide protest and give the federal government time to implement its response to their five-point demands.
The Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), in his intervention yesterday cautioned the protesters against breaching national security.
Besides, the Chairman of the South-west Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has also alleged that the genuine movement is already being hijacked by politicians to visit their frustrations on perceived opponents.
Governors, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), however, expressed concern about discontent, hunger and anger in the country, believed to be fuelling public angst, and pledged to work with other stakeholders to find a lasting solution.
The protesters, in a series of tweets, said the FCT roads would be barricaded from 6 am today.
To make real their threat, some of them planned to pass the night at the Central Business District near the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to ease their movements for the demonstration. They have also vowed to shut down the apex bank tomorrow by preventing workers from gaining access to the building.
Source: THISDAY
