June 12 Showdown: Nigerians Mobilize For Streets As Take It Back Movement Leads Charge

The Take It Back Movement has unveiled plans to stage a nationwide protest on June 12 to highlight the country’s worsening insecurity, shrinking civic freedoms, and deepening economic crisis.

In a statement issued on Monday by its National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, the group accused the Nigerian government of failing to tackle these critical challenges and said the planned protest aims to raise public awareness and demand accountability.

Rejecting the official Democracy Day celebrations, Sanyaolu urged workers, students, civil society organizations, artisans, and Nigerians in the diaspora to join in a peaceful demonstration across the country.

“We march not just for ourselves, but for the slain in Benue, the displaced in Plateau, the silenced in detention, and the starving masses abandoned by a corrupt elite,” the statement declared.

Despite restrictions on public protests by security forces, the movement insisted that demonstrations will proceed in state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory, with leadership expressing firm commitment to the cause.

The group condemned the surge in violence and insecurity, particularly in Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and the broader Middle Belt, where deadly attacks persist without accountability. Sanyaolu accused the state of complicity—either through denial, inaction, or negligence.

“People are being slaughtered with alarming regularity. The internally displaced population is growing, and perpetrators act with impunity. This bloodshed has become routine, and the government’s silence is deafening,” he said.

He further slammed the government’s failure to address the mounting humanitarian crisis and the neglect of displaced communities, saying: “This is not democracy—it’s organised cruelty.”

The movement also decried what it described as a government crackdown on dissent, citing arrests of peaceful protesters, prolonged detention of activists, and surveillance of journalists and social media users under the Cybercrime Act.

“Across Nigeria, democracy is unraveling. The freedoms won through struggle and sacrifice are being dismantled by those who once claimed to champion change,” Sanyaolu lamented.

He accused authorities of weaponising digital laws to suppress free expression and silence opposition voices, saying freedom of speech is now under siege.

“Citizens are intimidated, activists are locked up, and journalists harassed—all for speaking out. Social media posts are now criminalised,” he added.

Concluding, Sanyaolu called for nationwide unity and collective resistance against policies he believes are pushing Nigeria toward collapse. He warned that the country’s current path—marked by violence, repression, and poverty—must be urgently reversed.