Police officers have been spotted with heavy-duty arms and ammunition at the protest march by the coalition of Nigerian civil societies in Ikeja, Lagos State.

To commemorate Democracy Day, civil society organisations are protesting the economic hardship the country has been experiencing in recent times.

While marching from the Computer Village area of Ikeja down to Allen Avenue on Wednesday, they were heard chanting, “Tinubu ole,” and “We are hungry.”

Our reporter observed that the police officers had no fewer than 24 teargas canisters, 10 teargas guns, 17 rifles and two pistols. There was also a heavy presence of officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

READ ALSO: PHOTOS: Labour Unions Protest Rising Cost of Living in Lagos

‘PROTEST WON’T END UNTIL…’

While addressing the gathering of protesters, Ayoyinka Oni, the Lagos chairman of the African Action Congress (AAC), asked why President Bola Tinubu, who had said “Let the poor breathe”, was making life difficult for students and workers.

“Tinubu said, ‘Let the poor breathe’. Why is he choking students? Why is he choking workers?” Oni asked.

Oni also stated that the protest would not end until Sanyaolu Juwon, the national coordinator of the Take It Back (TIB) movement, was released.

According to Oni, the police took the national coordinator of the TIB movement from his home in Ogba at about 10:15 pm on Tuesday.

FIJ learned that he sent a message to the movement’s WhatsApp group when he was being arrested, and they have not heard from him since.

Oni, who stated that they did not know what station he was being held in, maintained that they would not stop protesting until he was released.

Ojukwu is a reporter with FIJ in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.