The protesters, about 30 in number, organized via social media and shouting “murderers, murderers,” were led by one Miss Azeenarh Mohammed. While they were protesting, another group of pro-Moro youths turned up at the Interior ministry compound and clashed with the first set of protesters, while making a call for ‘caution’ in the ongoing ‘attempts to hound him out of office’ over the tragic recruitment exercise. What was initially planned to be a “flash mob” and expected to last only 10 minutes by the anti-Moro group, morphed into mini chaos when the officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) tried to stop the protest.
In spite of the melee that ensued, Mohammed succeeded in splashing red paint, symbolising the blood of Nigerians who lost their lives on the day, in front of the ministry’s building. The protesters resisted the efforts of the security men to disperse them, and insisted on making some impression by writing “murderers” at the ministry’s entrance, causing some NSCDC officials to manhandle the protesters, and even some journalists roughly, seizing and destroying cameras and phones.
Mohammed, styling herself as a concerned Nigerian youth, expressed bitterness over what she sees as the plight of Nigerians in the hands of their leaders.
She also denied the accusation that she was sponsored, adding that she was simply exercising her right to express her views on national issues. The entrance of the pro-Moro group ensured a showdown with the anti-Moro protesters; they didn’t even spare the journalists covering the event.
Led by Mr. Etuk Bassey-William, they questioned the sincerity of the protesters and journalists interviewing them, describing the protesters’ actions as an “act of rascality.”
Bassey-Williams, a former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), accused the protesters of being sponsored, and asked that the interior minister should be given a “fair hearing.”
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