Heavy Security at Aso Rock as Sowore Plans Protest March

Security forces heavily deployed anti-riot police around the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, cordoning off main gates. The increased presence followed a planned march to the Villa by activist Omoyele Sowore. Sowore declared he would lead protesters to Aso Rock if abducted schoolchildren from Oyo and Borno states were not rescued.

Access to the Presidential Villa remained restricted, with security personnel turning away individuals without State House identification. Sowore announced that the African Action Congress and its Take It Back Movement would march from Eagle Square to the Presidential Villa, demanding the immediate release of kidnapped children and other victims across Nigeria. He called for President Tinubu's resignation, citing a failure in the fundamental duty to protect citizens.

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You cannot claim to be president of Nigeria and then refuse to do the job of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. We are not here to beg anybody. It would have been great if the number of policemen preventing this march could instead protect our schools.

Sowore had previously voiced his concerns, stating, "You cannot claim to be president of Nigeria and then refuse to do the job of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. We are not here to beg anybody. It would have been great if the number of policemen preventing this march could instead protect our schools." He also challenged security agents protecting politicians, pointing out that their own children could be at risk.

The planned march specifically targets the government's response to the May 15, 2026, abductions of approximately 39 students and seven teachers from schools in Oyo State. A separate incident on the same day involved the abduction of 42 pupils from a school in Borno State. In response, the federal government dispatched a high-powered delegation, including the Chief of Staff, NSA, Inspector-General of Police, and Chief of Defence Staff, to the affected Oyo communities. President Tinubu also approved the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards.

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Your children are also in schools. If the school becomes a ground for kidnapping, one day your children too will be kidnapped.