June 12: Take It Back Movement to stage nationwide protest

The Take It Back Movement has announced plans to hold a nationwide protest on June 12 to draw attention to the country’s worsening insecurity, shrinking civic space, and growing economic hardship.

In a statement on Monday by its National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, the movement condemned the rising wave of insecurity in the Middle Belt and northern parts of the country, pointing to continued attacks in Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and other states.

According to Sanyaolu, communities have been wiped out while thousands remain displaced, with the government either turning a blind eye or denying the scale of the carnage.

“In Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, and across the Middle Belt, mass killings continue with terrifying frequency.

“Whole communities are decimated. Lives are snuffed out without consequences. Internally displaced persons multiply, while perpetrators roam free.

“The bloodletting has become a routine, and the state remains complicit, through its inaction, negligence, or outright denial. This is not a democracy. This is organised cruelty,” the statement partly read.

Sanyaolu also criticised the Federal Government’s alleged crackdown on dissent, citing arrests of protesters, detention of activists, and the targeting of journalists and social media users under the Cybercrime Act.

He described these actions as part of a broader campaign to silence opposition and stifle democratic expression.

Sanyaolu said, “Across the federation, the signs of democratic collapse are unmistakable. Democracy which was won through struggle, sweat, and blood has been dismantled by the very forces that once promised change. Nigeria stands today not as a democratic nation, but as a country at war with its own people.

“Freedom of speech is under attack. The state has turned on its citizens with an unrelenting campaign of intimidation and censorship. Journalists are harassed. Activists are detained. Citizens are arrested for social media posts.

“Through weaponisation of the Cybercrime Act, government agents now stalk the digital footprints of dissenters, silencing legitimate criticism and criminalising free expression.”

Rejecting official celebrations of Democracy Day, he urged Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful protest, calling on workers, students, civil society groups, artisans, and members of the diaspora to join the action.

“This June 12, we march not just for ourselves, but for the slain in Benue, the displaced in Plateau, the silenced in detention, and the starving masses abandoned by a corrupt elite,” the statement concluded.