A statement entitled “Notice of Postponement of Planned Protest” went viral on Wednesday night, suggesting that the planned nationwide protest slated for August 1 – 10 has been shifted.
It was printed on the letterhead of ‘Take It Back Movement’, one of the human rights organisations leading the protest. It was signed by Damilare Adenola, Director of Mobilisation.
The statement suggested that the planned action had been postponed till October 1 “due to prevailing security threat conditions.”
It reads: “Due to prevailing security threat conditions, we, the organisers of the #EndBadGovernance and hunger protest, can no longer guarantee the security of lives of Nigerians who will come out tomorrow,
“In light of this, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the #EndBadGovernance Protest to October 1.
“The safety of our citizens is paramount, and we cannot compromise on that. We will continue to monitor the situation and work towards a peaceful and secure protest on the new date,” it reads.
VERIFICATION
There is an ongoing mobilisation for a nationwide protest tagged #EndBadGovernance. The planned protest, which has been generating traction, has forced President Bola Tinubu and security agencies to put in some measures most especially to pacify those behind the action to shelve the plan.
There were tones of threat in some of the statements issued by the agencies.
According to the organisers, the action is to demonstrate against “hunger and economic hardship” in Nigeria.
‘Take It Back Movement’ is a leading group pushing for the protest after the proponents of the planned action were branded ‘faceless.’
Damilare Adenola, the group’s Director of Mobilisation, had featured in a series of media interviews in the last one week, defending the planned action.
The purported statement announcing the postponement was signed in his name.
However, the statement is not dated and this was a clue, triggering this verification.
Checks on the X handles (formerly twitter) of Adenola and that of the ‘Take It Back Movement’, showed that the statement had been debunked.
“DISREGARD. They have started with their propaganda and false narratives,” a post on the movement’s X handle reads.
VERDICT: FALSE.
