June 12: Nigerians prepare for mass protest to be held in different states across the country.

There are signs of an imminent clash between civil society groups and the Nigerian police as a mass protest is set to be held in different states across Nigeria and in the diaspora on Saturday (today), in commemoration of Democracy Day. Several digital flyers, widely circulated on social media on Friday, publicized meeting points in Lagos, Calabar (Cross River), Yola (Adamawa), Gombe, Abeokuta (Ogun), Yenagoa (Bayelsa), Port Harcourt (Rivers), Bauchi, Ibadan (Oyo), Ilorin (Kwara), Enugu, Akure (Ondo), Yobe, and Zaria (Kaduna).

Flyers aimed at protesters in New York (US), Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory stated,

“N30,000 minimum wage, N13.5m senators’ salary, Nigeria is over N30tn in debt.”

One poster for a protest tagged ‘Buhari Must Go Party’ was aimed at supporters in London, United Kingdom. Similar ‘Buhari must go’ posters also targeted protesters in Toronto (Canada), Austin (Texas, USA), Calabar, Kebbi, and Lagos.

However, police commands in several states across the country, including Lagos, Bayelsa, Kogi, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti and Akwa Ibom, argued that they were unaware of any planned protest in their respective states.