By Adeyinka Adeniran
Protest held in Ibadan on Monday. The protesters who defiled Police order gathered at Rose Wale Filling station, Iwo Road as early as 9AM.
Prior to their arrival, Police patrol vans were seen strategically located within the vicinity.
The protesters who assembled in bits started gathering and formed a forum of about 50 members who carried placards, banners expressing their displeasure against the Cybercrime Act.
The protesters, mostly members of the African Action Congress (AAC) were seen adorned in the usual orange beret with megaphone and singing solidarity songs against the state of the economy.
The protesters who moved from the Rose Wale Filling station walked and marched around the vicinity layer moved towards World Oil on the Lagos Ibadan expressway.
As they moved, uniformed and plain cloth securities were on hand to provide security while also ensuring free flow of traffic while the protest lasted.
Addressing the people before the take off, the state coordinator for the Take It Back Movement, Comrade Dimeji Salako said the essence of the protest was to express displeasure against the Act, which he said was to gag the people.
Salako said, “The essence of this protest, just as we have announced over the weeks is to repel the Cybercrime Act. Just as you are aware, the Cybercrime Act was enacted into law by the National government through the National Assembly to fight against terrorism around the Cyberspace or any other cyber related criminal activities like internet fraud, cyber stalking and others.
“But, what we have noticed overtime is that the Nigerian government and the Nigerian Police have overturned that law to fight against the people. They have overturned the law to oppress and harass dissenting voices, activists, oppositions and including journalists.
“So, we have come outside today to say, enough is enough. President Tinubu and the Nigerian authorities cannot turn Nigeria into North Korea where the government are the ones censoring what people will say on the internet or any other space.
“No man born of a woman has the right to dictate what we will say as Nigerians because it is our fundamental human right to freedom of speech and expression.
“President Tinubu and the Police cannot beat a child and also dictate how the child will cry. If they do not want people to speak against them, then they should do the needful, end bad governance, give us good governance, then nobody will have the time to speaks against the government when everything is good.”
Also addressing the people at World Oil Junction, Iwo Road, the state Chairman of AAC, Comrade Kayode Babayomi said the protesters, mostly youths are not pleased with the Act as it is sending people to jail needlessly because they choose to express themselves online.
He said, “Nigerians, mostly youths trooped out to express their displeasure on the various restrictive laws that the Federal Government just introduced. These laws are so restrictive that the government will arrest any one that speak ill of the government.
“We are outside this morning to protest the evil Cybercrime Act, which is a weapon, instead of protecting Nigerians, it is been used to silence critics, jail journalists and criminalises free speech, we can’t afford to stay silence. We are here this morning to call for the repealing of the Cybercrime Act which violates human rights.
“Section 24 of this Act also criminalises insulting someone online which means if you counter or criticise a politician, and he feels offended, you could go to jail just for a Facebook post. For just because of an ordinary WhatsApp content, journalists are been arrested, protesters are jailed, activists are been silenced, all because of this badly written law.
“The Cybercrime Act must be reformed, that is why we are out this morning to say we are standing on our feet and toes to ensure that this Act is repealed. No body is free from the Act. Today it is journalist, tomorrow it could be anyone else.
“The evil Act is to ensure that the voice of the Nigerian people are silence and not been heard. The Act gag against the wishful right of people to express themselves in a conformed way against the government or any politician or any well connected individuals.
“That is why we are out to ensure that people don’t continue to be languishing in jail, and just for them to be continually arrested, just because they expressed themselves online.
“There’s nothing wrong in insulting anyone, if I insult you, you insult me back. No body under the law has a right to tell the other how he should express himself. No law should tell me how to address a certain situation. No law should criminalises how people express themselves. Nobody under the law should tell us how to express our grievances and that is why we are out to say no to the Cybercrime Act.
“As far as Take it Back Movement is concerned, we know the number of people we have saved from going to jail just for expressing themselves and reacting to issues freely.”
Corenews observed heavy security presence at major points in the capital city. To ensure security, operatives and increased patrol vans were noticed at Iwo Road under bridge, Mokola, UI, Ojoo among other areas.
However, despite the protest, business activities went on unhindered as people go about their business activities without fear.
