COURAGE IN THE FACE OF TEAR GAS: Female Protester Dares Police with Baby in Hand, Demanding Justice for slain Husband

A female protester, in a heart-wrenching display of defiance, boldly confronted police officers, cradling her baby in her arms and daring them to shoot.

Her husband, she said, was gruesomely murdered by bandits in Katsina state, leaving her with no choice but to join the protest against the crippling hardship and spate of insecurity in Nigeria.

“I came to protest the suffering in Nigeria, and the police are responding with tear gas. Do they want to kill my baby too?” she cried, her voice shaking with determination. “People can’t eat, things are hard.”

As the protest unfolded, operatives fired toxic gas and pepper spray, dislodging the protesters at about 10:30 am.

The police had earlier fired warning shots into the ground, but the protesters stood their ground.

And in a shocking revelation, a pro-government protester admitted to being paid N5,000 to stage a counter-protest.

“They picked us up and said they would give us N5,000 to protest against these people. I have collected N2,000 and I am waiting for my balance. I am hungry, but the money won’t solve my problem,” he said.

The Director of Mobilisation, Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, vowed that the protest would continue until President Bola Tinubu met their demands.

“We have been oppressed for too long. Today, we rise. We want to see the President on the streets. During the protest, he was on the streets.”

The protesters are demanding a reversal of the petrol pump price to N100/litre, an end to insecurity, the closure of IDP camps, and electoral reform, among other things.

As the protest continues on Friday, organizers remain resolute despite intimidation by security agencies.

“We will not be silenced,” said Michael Lenin, one of the organizers. “We will continue to demand justice and accountability from our leaders.”