FearlessOctober: Protesters Rally in Lagos Amid Tight Security on Independence Day

On Tuesday morning, demonstrators gathered at the Ikeja Underbridge in Lagos State as Nigeria commemorated its 2024 Independence Day. The protest, tagged #FearlessOctober1, drew significant attention due to the heavy security presence, which included officers from the Nigeria Police Force, the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola, led the police contingent overseeing the protest. Demonstrators chanted solidarity songs and waved placards with messages such as “Reverse electricity tariff now,” “End all attacks on democratic rights,” “Reduce petrol price to N197 per litre; end scarcity,” and “Profit soars while people suffer.”

The protest, organized by several civil society groups including the Take It Back Movement, the Education Rights Campaign, the Coalition for Revolution, and the Socialist Workers League, comes in the wake of growing dissatisfaction over economic hardship in the country. This marks the second large-scale protest in two months, following a similar demonstration in August.

Organizers described the protest as a continuation of the #EndBadGovernance movement, which took place earlier this year from August 1 to 10. According to the groups, the protest was sparked by the government’s failure to address critical issues affecting Nigerians, including hunger, skyrocketing living costs, insecurity, government waste, electoral reform, and a lack of investment in human capital development.

Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, the large security deployment underscored the government’s wariness of rising public discontent amid ongoing economic struggles.