BREAKING: Independence Day Protest Begins In Lagos Despite Police Ban As Over 200 Hit Streets [PHOTOS]

RevolutionNow protesters have trooped into the streets of Lagos, demanding an end to bad governance.

The protesters, over 200 of them, marched from the streets of Ojota to Maryland in Lagos, chanting songs of solidarity.

Similar protests are also taking place in some states across the country.

Nigeria marked 60 years of its independence from Britain on Thursday.

President Muhammadu Buhari had addressed the nation, defending the hike in the price of petrol.

The president said the price of the product is cheaper in Nigerian than in Saudi Arabia and Chad, an occurrence he said should not be.

Some Nigerians had railed against the fuel price hike, demanding a return to status quo.

There has been rising insecurity in the country coupled with a parlous economy, fueling citizens’ unrest.

Citizens are converging across the country to register their disaffection on a momentous day in the life of the nation.

Recall that yesterday the Lagos State Police Command announced a ban on all sorts of protests and rallies within the state today, October 1st 2020.

The police said in in a statement by the spokesman of the command, Olumuyiwa Adejobi. The statement added that;

“The command will not allow any gatherings, rallies, or protests against the sovereignty of Nigeria in the state just as he announced the cancellation of the 60th Independence anniversary parade by the Lagos State government.

“CP Hakeem Odumosu according to the release also warned parents and guardians to warn their children and wards to desist from any rallies, protests or be mobilised to wage war against the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, or else they (parents or guardians) of any youths arrested for such activities will be prosecuted.”

The CP, however, appealed to the general public to “be law-abiding, desist from violence and any act that is capable of disrupting the sovereignty of Nigeria”.

Also in his Independence Day speech, President Buhari took a swipe at ex Nigerian President as he said his predecessors who are criticising his administration nearly destroyed the country.

The president said some of what he is being criticised of, including the increase in fuel pump price, are “careful decisions” taken in the economic crisis caused by external factors.

He said these factors, including the drop in oil price, has shrunk available resources but added that his government has been able to do even more than his predecessors.

“No government in the past did what we are doing with such scarce resources,” Buhari said.

“We have managed to keep things going in spite of the disproportionate spending on security.

“Those in the previous governments, from 1999 to 2015, who presided over the near destruction of the country has now the impudence to criticise our efforts.

“In the circumstances, a responsible government must face the realities and make careful decisions.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who left office in 2007, has been one of the strongest critics of the Buhari administration.

About two weeks ago, he said Nigeria is drifting towards a failed and badly divided state.

“Economically our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and socially, we are firming up as an unwholesome and insecure country,” he had said.

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