LAGOS, Nigeria 

Many Nigerians on Monday participated in nationwide protests over the misuse of the Cybercrime Act and the worsening economic hardship in the country.

The protests, organized by the Take It Back Movement, were held in various states of the country despite repeated warnings by the police.

Since the Cybercrime Act was signed into law in 2015, many media outlets and journalists have witnessed massive cyberattacks from authorities for publishing critical reports. 

Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prevention & Prohibition) Act 2015 contains elements capable of gagging freedom of the press.

Protesters wielding placards with various inscriptions such as “Stop the Repression” and “Let Us Breathe,” among others, cited high inflation, exacerbated by the removal of fuel subsidies in May 2023, and endemic corruption as key reasons for their actions.

The coordinator of the protest in Lagos, Juwon Sanyaolu, told Anadolu that the protest was necessary to resist the “increasing authoritarianism of the government and to demand relief for Nigerians amid inflation and insecurity.”

While protesters were dispersed with tear gas by police officers accused of excessive use of force in the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State, protesters in Lagos were denied access to the Lagos State House of Assembly, where lawmakers were having plenary sessions.

Reacting to the nationwide protest, police spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the planned protest was a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the Nigerian police and, by extension, the nation.

“While not against the exercise of citizens right to peaceful assembly and association in Nigeria as enshrined in the Constitution, we are deeply concerned about the motive behind a nationwide protest scheduled on the same day the contributions of the Nigeria Police Force to national security is to be celebrated, putting into consideration that such glamorous event would bring together dignitaries from all spheres of life both internationally and within the country,” he said.