The Take It Back (TIB) Movement has written to the Lagos State Police Command ahead of the June 12 Democracy Day protest, requesting protection for demonstrators.
In an open letter addressed to Moshood Jimoh, commissioner of police in Lagos, the TIB Lagos coordinator, Adekunle Taofeek, said the notice serves as a formal and public notification of the planned protest.
In the letter dated Tuesday, Taofeek said citizens across the country would take to the streets in protest against worsening economic conditions and insecurity.
“On June 12, 2025, the people of Nigeria, young and old, working class and unemployed, angry and awake, will take to the streets in peaceful protest against the unbearable insecurity and economic hardship that have strangled this nation,” he said.
According to the organisers, the significance of June 12 must be upheld as a symbol of resistance and the fight for justice.
The letter read: “June 12 is not a date for silence but a reminder that Nigerians never begged for freedom.
“We have fought for it. And we will continue to fight, peacefully but fearlessly, until this country works for all of us.”
The group reminded the police of the constitutional rights of Nigerians to protest, citing sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantee freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“Protesting is not a request; it is a constitutional right. No law gives the police the power to crush or criminalise peaceful dissent.
“Therefore, we demand that the Lagos State Police Command desist from any attempts to suppress, brutalise, or arrest peaceful protesters.
“Deploy officers to protect protesters, not to harass or assault them. We expect your men to behave professionally and with restraint,” the letter added.
June 12 is celebrated as Democracy Day in Nigeria in honour of the 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida despite being widely regarded as the country’s freest and fairest.
This year’s commemoration also marks 26 years since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
