The protest against bad governance in Nigeria’s capital city, scheduled from August 1 to August 10, has significantly waned in momentum as the exercise enters its third day.
The Editor Nigeria understands that as a strategy to manage the protest, the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) secured a court order that confined the demonstrators to the MKO Abiola National Stadium.
Despite the organizers’ request to utilize Eagle Square for their gathering, they were refused entry.
Nevertheless, on the first day of the protest, they attempted to converge at Eagle Square, only to be dispersed by the police using teargas following a prolonged standoff.
Security personnel faced challenges controlling various groups that obstructed roads and set fires across Abuja, while the protest proceeded peacefully at the stadium.
In contrast to the initial days of the protest, there was no presence of protesters present at the Abuja Stadium when journalists visited on Saturday morning.
According to Daily Trust, police officers and journalists at the stadium were merely present to monitor the situation.
“Them don go do weekend,” said a policeman who mocked the protesters while chatting with his colleagues.
When contacted, one of the organisers of the protest in Abuja told reporters that they were at Berger Roundabout, but not a single protester was sighted there.
Shortly after, he told reporters they were having a strategic meeting inside the stadium.
Meanwhile, some supporters of the protest posted a video in which about 25 people were seen dancing in a group.
“Day 3 Protest in Abuja, Protesters are already gathering in their numbers!” an X user who tweeted via @DAMADENUGA captioned the post.
