Nigerians adversely affected by the country’s economic difficulties and hardships used the anniversary of the annulled June 12, 1993 election, the Democracy Day celebration, to take to the streets of Lagos to protest.
In Lagos, the protesters, who gathered at the Ikeja Under-Bridge, called for reversing specific policies the current administration implemented.
Despite the heavy presence of law enforcement personnel, the protesters were seen holding placards with various inscriptions such as “Reverse Electricity Tariff Hike” , “No one deserves a death sentence for protesting against hunger,” among others.
The protesters had earlier occupied the streets of Ikeja, Lagos State, to voice their concerns regarding the current state of the nation as it commemorates Democracy Day.
As they stood their ground to ensure the protest was not truncated, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, arrived to engage with the demonstrators.
In addition, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, had earlier taken to his social media handle to confirm the ongoing protest.
Sharing video clips, Hundeyin stated that there was no reason for concern.
He wrote, “Democracy Day celebrants and protesters at Ikeja Underbridge—adequate security for celebrants and protesters alike.
“No cause for alarm. Your safety and security remain our priority. #LagosPoliceNG.”
The Joint Action Front (JAF) and other civil societies also embarked on peaceful street protests against bad governance on Thursday, June 12.
Marching along Obafemi Awolowo Way from under the Computer Village bridge towards Alausa Secretariat, the protesters with various placards described the last two years of the current government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as anti-masses from its inception till date. They called on him to end what they tagged,’ bad governance’ in the country.
The protest was peaceful, as the Commissioner of Police, Owohunwa Jimoh, engaged 15 civil society organizations (CSOs) to conduct it peacefully. Although the Police had an agreement with them ahead of the 2025 Democracy Day celebrations, they mounted a heavy police presence around them to prevent any breakdown of law and order.
The demonstrators began assembling as early as 7:30 a.m. to protest what they described as “the absence of genuine democracy in Nigeria and the hunger, hardship, and gross inequality” under President Bola Tinubu’s two-year-old administration.
In a chat with LEADERSHIP Friday, the general secretary of Joint Action Front (JAF), Comrade Abiodun Aremu, said, “JAF, from 2003 till today, June 12, 2025, has been on the street battles, at the forefront fighting and protesting against injustice, against looters. We need justice for the poor masses; there should be good dividends of democracy. We also need to review against looters who are siphoning the nation’s wealth, which could be for the country’s development.
“June 12 was before our eyes, the crumb seekers from the looters’ class cannot distort our history. We cannot talk of June 12 without appreciating three major struggles that became clear that IBB was not prepared to exit except he was disgraced out of office, which we accomplished,” said Aremu.
Thugs Distrub #EndBadGovernance Peaceful Democracy Protest In Ondo
In Ondo State, suspected thugs in Akure, the Ondo State capital, disrupted a peaceful democracy day protest against the hardship, insecurity and a “shrinking civic space” under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Members of the #EndBadGovernance had gathered at the popular Cathedral junction, FirstBank Area and ‘A’ Division, before some thugs pounced on them in the presence of the police officers who were deployed to protect the protesters.
The protesters who alleged that the thugs were sponsored accused the men of the Nigerian Police Force of aiding the thugs to disrupt the peaceful demonstration.
Speaking with journalists during the protest, Tope Temokun, said they have formally requested the intervention of the Ondo State Police Command to ensure the safety and protection of peaceful protesters scheduled to take place in Akure.
After the thugs disrupted the protest, the protesters moved to the police headquarters, along Igbatoro Road in Akure, the state capital.
Led by Activist and politician Omoyele Sowore, the protesters said, “ What is so sad is that a letter had been written by a lawyer to the Commissioner of Police, not to plead with police that we want to protest, but just to remind them of their duties as policemen to protect people in the country, and they failed and were shocked in that responsibility. That’s why we relocated the protests here.
“We have just met with the police commissioner, who promised that something will be done. Do I believe it? No, but at least we made our point known. But we’ve given him a matching order that we’ll return and take over the place if something is not done.
“Nobody has the right to prevent another Nigerian from expressing themselves, and that is why, you see, I’m always in the crosshairs of the police, whether the person oppressed is a policeman, or whosoever.
“We are not going to accept it. We are not, and that’s why we have come here today. These hired thugs came to sabotage and hijack. They came to that place to attack the peaceful protest.”
Reacting, the state Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, said, “With the level of training we have received locally and internationally, we will not allow any policeman under my watch to deal with thugs.
“So their allegation that maybe police connived with thugs to attack them is baseless.”
