The #Take-It-Back protest took a turn when officers of the Rivers State Command opened tear gas on the protesters in a bid to disperse them.
Organisers and supporters of the Take It Back Movement, Civil Society Organisations, and Niger Delta Congress had gathered at Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt, only to be met with resistance from operatives of the Rivers State Police Command.
The policemen, however, asked them to leave for another venue.
Still undeterred, the protesters began singing solidarity songs and started marching inside the park and proceeded outside towards the popular Aba Express Road.
When the protesters reached the CFC junction, the armed anti-riot policemen intercepted them again and ordered them to vacate the street, an order which they defied again.
Immediately, the policemen fired tear gas canisters, which sent the various groups protesting scattering for safety.
Also, protesters on Monday gathered at Ikeja Under Bridge, Lagos, to express their grievances.
The protest, which is part of a nationwide demonstration spearheaded by the Take-It-Back Movement and other civil society organisations, began earlier in the day to draw attention to several national issues.
Key among the concerns raised by the organisers are the alleged misuse of the Cybercrime Act, the worsening economic hardship in the country, and what they described as a “state of emergency” in Rivers State.
The demonstrators carried placards bearing inscriptions such as “Any law that forbids us from speaking against oppression in Nigeria is no longer a law but shackles of slavery” and “When law becomes a tool of oppression, unite to repeal it”
In a statement released last Friday, the National Coordinator of the Take-It-Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, said the protest was aimed at resisting what he termed the “increasing authoritarianism” of the current administration and demand urgent relief for Nigerians battling inflation and insecurity.