Protesters demand police protection for Democracy Day rally in Lagos

The Senate is considering a legislative move to institutionalise a presidential address every June 12, in recognition of the day’s historical significance.

In Lagos, the Take It Back Movement has formally written to the Police Command, requesting protection for participants in their planned protest.
Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, in an interview with reporters on Tuesday, states that the Senate was hoping to prepare a bill to formalise the President’s speech to the nation on that date.

He said: “We are hoping to bring a bill soon to institutionalise the President’s address on June 12 because of its historical importance. There can’t be a better time to address the nation through the parliament than on June 12, especially since it is a joint sitting of the National Assembly.”

The Senate leader further revealed that the proposed legislation would also seek to designate the National Assembly Complex as the venue for future presidential inauguration ceremonies.

Bamidele added, “We are hoping, in that bill, to ensure that the swearing-in ceremony of the next President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria will be held within the arcade of the National Assembly. ”

He also announced that the Senate was considering an extension of the implementation period for the 2024 budget, particularly its capital expenditure component.

“We have to sit and assess the full implementation of the 2024 budget. We will further extend the capital expenditure timeline while ensuring that the 2025 budget is fully implemented.”

On constitutional reform, the Ekiti Central Senator, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, acknowledged that progress has been slow but assured Nigerians that the process is ongoing. On the protests, the group intends to march against “unbearable insecurity and economic hardship” gripping the nation.

In a letter addressed to the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, and made public yesterday, the TIB Coordinator in Lagos, Adekunle Taofeek, asserted that the communication serves as an “official and public notification” of their intention to hold a peaceful demonstration.

“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,” stated the letter.

The organisers stressed the historical significance of June 12, which commemorates the annulled 1993 presidential election, as a day not for silence but for reaffirming the fight for freedom. “We have fought for it. And we will continue to fight, peacefully but fearlessly, until this country works for all of us,” they declared.