Abuja Police command has scattered ‘All Eyes On The Judiciary’ protest which was staged by concerned Nigerians over the growing concern that the powers that be are perfecting plans to compromise the Election Petition Tribunal Judges as the entire nation anxiously wait to see the outcome of the petition filed by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party–LP, Mr Peter Obi and his PDP counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar challenging the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the last election.
The protest which was held today by the Coalition of Support Groups—CSG was aimed at calling on the attention of the Judiciary to be wary of any compromise.
Though, it was marked by a significant presence of heavily armed security operatives. The heightened security presence, which had been in place since Saturday night, NewsBand gathered was in response to a government notification regarding the rally.
By 2:30 pm, only a small group of about six individuals were spotted near the event venue, positioned on a bridge some distance away. These individuals seemed wary of the security personnel deployed at the venue, causing them to keep their distance.
However, a venue change led the rally to be held under the bridge in Area 1, where a limited number of protesters gathered. Unfortunately, this group encountered harassment from the police, resulting in their dispersal for safety reasons.
Despite earlier plans, the rally failed to achieve its intended purpose. The invitation extended to two television stations, AIT and Silverbird, was undermined by the prevailing atmosphere of fear, making it impossible for them to effectively cover the event. Additionally, the planned live streaming of the rally did not materialise.
In all, the rally did not proceed as planned. The National Convener of CSG later shared a notice urging protesters to return home safely.
This decision was prompted by an intelligence report from the police, which claimed a potential hijacking of the peaceful demonstration by criminal elements.
Meanwhile, at the time of filing this report, one person is said to be allegedly killed by the police and five others taken into the custody.
