June 12: Rescue Oyo pupils, other kidnap victims, protesters tell Tinubu

Demands for urgent action against insecurity and the immediate rescue of all abducted Nigerians, especially schoolchildren from Oyo State, dominated protests held across Nigeria on Friday to mark June 12 Democracy Day.

Activists participating in rallies in various states decried the escalating insecurity, economic hardship, and what they described as a decline in democratic culture under President Bola Tinubu's administration. Opposition parties also criticized the government, stating that citizens are increasingly vulnerable to violence and criminal activities.

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We are protesting the kidnapping of our children in Oyo State. We are also protesting injustice in our country, a situation whereby innocent schoolchildren in Oyo and Borno states have been in the custody of criminals for several weeks now.

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, who participated in a June 12 rally in Lagos, emphasized that the protests aimed to draw attention to the plight of abducted victims and broader national issues. "We are protesting the kidnapping of our children in Oyo State. We are also protesting injustice in our country, a situation whereby innocent schoolchildren in Oyo and Borno states have been in the custody of criminals for several weeks now," Falana stated. He also protested against police harassment and the pervasive hunger and poverty plaguing the nation, asserting that Nigeria possesses ample resources to ensure its citizens' well-being.

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Those kids are suffering. There is no medical attention and no food for them. And so, for us as Nigerians, all of us are in custody, one way or the other. We demand the immediate release of those children and their teachers.

Falana described the conditions faced by the abducted children and teachers as dire, with a lack of medical attention and food. "Those kids are suffering. There is no medical attention and no food for them. And so, for us as Nigerians, all of us are in custody, one way or the other. We demand the immediate release of those children and their teachers," he urged.

In Osun State, 12 human rights organizations under the Coalition of Civil Society Groups, Activists and Trade Unionists marched through Osogbo, demanding decisive government action on insecurity. Victor Lijofi, Osun State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, warned that Nigeria's democracy is "derailing" and called for immediate government intervention.

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We demand the immediate rescue of the school pupils abducted in Oyo State. Nigeria’s democracy is derailing, and we warn the F