The Take-It-Back Movement, led by former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, has declared that this year’s June 12 will not be marked by “hollow ceremonies” but by a national protest against killings, repression, and the steady erosion of democracy in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, the movement condemned what it called the “hypocrisy” of official celebrations, insisting that there is no freedom to celebrate.
“We will not participate in the hypocrisy of celebrating freedom where none exists. Instead, we declare this day a national day of resistance—a day to stand against tyranny and bad governance,” the group said.
The statement warned that Nigeria’s democracy is under siege, with freedoms and rights increasingly curtailed by those in power.
It pointed to a worrying trend of attacks on journalists, arbitrary detentions of activists, and the use of the Cybercrime Act to silence dissent on social media.
“Freedom of speech is under attack. Journalists are harassed. Activists are detained. Citizens are arrested for social media posts. The Cybercrime Act is now a tool of repression, stalking the digital footprints of dissenters,” the group noted.
Beyond the attacks on civil liberties, the group decried the continuing wave of violence in regions like Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and across the Middle Belt, where mass killings and displacement have become frequent.
“Internally displaced persons multiply while perpetrators roam free. The bloodletting has become routine, and the state remains complicit—through inaction, negligence, or outright denial. This is not a democracy. This is organised cruelty,” it said.
The Take-It-Back Movement emphasized that its June 12 protest will honour not just democracy’s original heroes, but also today’s victims—those murdered in rural communities, the voiceless in detention, and the masses suffering under what it calls “a corrupt elite.”
“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 the ruling class,” the group said.
The movement called on all Nigerians to join the protest nationwide to demand justice, freedom, and true democratic governance
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