Take-It-Back Movement Pushes Against Rivers’ State Of Emergency 

The men of the Nigerian Police on Monday dispersed demonstrators in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja Lagos, and oil-rich Rivers State as thousands of people across the country came together to protest the State of Emergency in Rivers State, and call for the repeal of the cybercrime act.

Organized by a group known as the Take It Back movement, the protesters are calling for an end to the State of Emergency in oil-rich Rivers State. Since 2023, the state has been plagued by violence following Governor Sim Fubara’s ascension. A power struggle over who controls the state’s party structure and machinery had ensued. Wike, seeking to maintain his godfather-like influence, has clashed with Fubara, who refuses to concede. This tension has led to a deadlock, stalling governance and defying efforts at resolution, including from President Bola Tinubu, who once intervened to mediate. The conflict got to a head with the bombing of pipelines, prompting President Tinubu to declare a controversial state of emergency. This resulted in Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the state House of Assembly being ousted for six months. The Take It Back movement has condemned the move as illegal and is calling for the reinstatement of both the executive and legislature.

Wearing their distinctive orange berets, protesters kicked off their rally in Lagos, gathering at the Ikeja Under Bridge before marching through major roads in the state capital, chanting solidarity songs, all while being closely monitored by police officers.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had previously urged the movement to cancel its planned nationwide protest, criticizing the timing as “ill-conceived and mischievous.” In response, activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore swiftly dismissed the police’s objections, rejecting accusations that the protest, scheduled for Monday, 7th April 2025, aimed to disrupt the National Police Day celebrations.

In Oyo, members of the Take-It-Back Movement held a peaceful protest in Ibadan, the state capital, with security personnel on standby to maintain order. However, in Port Harcourt, the situation took a violent turn when police fired tear gas at protesters at Isaac Boro Park in Rivers State.

“Nobody can tell us where not to gather, we are Rivers people,” a young demonstrator told the policemen who warned them not to hold the protest.  “We are not here for violence.”

“As it is, we have no government. This government in Rivers State is alien to our people; it is unconstitutional. We are here to demand that our governor comes back to office and lead us appropriately. We have a social contract with the governor and not the sole administrator. This is democracy,” he added.

The demonstrator listed some of their grievances to include the repeal of the Cybercrime Act. The Act was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on May 15, 2015, and Nigeria’s first law specifically targeting cybersecurity. It provides a comprehensive legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for prohibiting, preventing, detecting, prosecuting, and punishing cybercrimes in Nigeria. However, administrations have weaponized section 24, which aims to regulate such activities to incarcerate citizens and journalists.

Similar to Rivers State, police in Abuja dispersed protesters with tear gas. The demonstrators, who had gathered in the Maitama area of the nation’s capital on Monday morning to voice their grievances, were met with tear gas canisters, and two were arrested. A male protester known as ‘Flag Boy’ and a female protester identified only as Bose were apprehended by the police near the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. 

In Yobe, four activists were arrested. “Four of our comrades have also been arrested by the police in Yobe,” Juwon Sanyaolu, the National Coordinator of the ‘Take It Back’ movement, the organisers of the protest, told our correspondent, adding that “the police also teargassed protesters in Rivers State as they did in Abuja.”

This marks the latest in a series of demonstrations that the Take It Back movement has either led or joined forces with other groups to organize in recent months. In August 2024, the movement took part in the #EndBadGovernance protest, followed by another on October 1, 2024, aimed at campaigning against corruption, poor governance, insecurity, and the mismanagement of the country’s economy.