In response to the recent violence during the #EndBadGovernance protests.

The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Organising Committee has announced three days of mourning to honor those who lost their lives. The mourning period starts on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, with an X Space event and concludes on Friday, August 9, 2024, with a public symposium and candlelight procession.

The committee, led by Hassan Soweto, Ayoyinka Oni, and Oloye Adeniji, is urging all Nigerians and supporters of the cause to participate in this period of mourning. People are encouraged to wear black clothing, update their social media profiles with related graphics, and join the collective actions planned for the three days.

The committee’s decision comes after recent statements from the Lagos State Government and the Commissioner of Police, indicating a lack of commitment to ensuring the safety of peaceful protesters.

The statement

“In fact, given how persistent the attacks have been, we have no choice but to believe that the police and the thugs are working together to muzzle our voices. This has made Ojota unsafe for peaceful protesters hence our decision to re-strategise and consider other forms of engagement to keep our struggle alive until day 10.

“We hereby condemn these unprovoked attacks on peaceful protesters and law-abiding Nigerians. We demand a public apology from the police as well as the return of all mobile phones and other valuables stolen from our people by the same police meant to protect them.

“The second reason we have taken this course of action is that we have seen quite clearly that President Tinubu is on a mission to divide this country and set it aflame just so that he can continue to keep himself and the corrupt privileged clique around him in power.

“This explains the heavy-handed and disproportionate killings of protesters in the North and other parts of the country. At least over 40 protesters, mostly our Northern brothers and sisters, have been killed while hundreds have been arrested and detained over the course of the past few days,” the statement added.

“We stand opposed to the senseless killings of our brothers and sisters for daring to protest hunger and hardship. These three days of mourning are to demonstrate that we shall continue to stand with our siblings from all parts of the country in this dark hour, and together with them, we shall fight for justice for those who have been killed and for an end to all forms of bad governance in this country.

“To this extent, we demand the immediate sack of the Inspector General of Police and the setting up of a democratically constituted public probe into the killings, wanton destruction and violence in various parts of the country during the course of the protest.

“Even in war, warring parties have a right to mourn and bury their dead. We, therefore, ask the Commissioner of Police in Lagos state to respect our rights as citizens to mourn our dead even as we continue to demand answers from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over our various demands, which remain unmet today.

“Finally, we hold that any group of protesters have the right to continue to engage peacefully on the street to drive home the demands of our collective struggle,”