Hunger protest loses momentum as protesters shun Abuja venue on day 3

The #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled from August 1 to August 10 has lost steam in Nigeria’s capital city.

As part of measures to contain the protest, authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had obtained a court order which restricted the protesters to MKO Abiola National Stadium.

Conveners of the protest had demanded to use Eagle Square for convergence but they were denied access.

However, on day one of the protest, they headed for Eagle Square where the police dispersed them with teargas after hours of resistance.

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Security forces also had tough time controlling different groups which blocked roads and lit bonfire across Abuja while the protest held peacefully at the stadium.

As against the situation on the first two days of the protest, not a single protester was sighted at the Abuja Stadium when Daily Trust visited on Saturday morning.

Policemen and journalists at the stadium just stood around observing the situation.

“Them don go do weekend,” said a policeman who mocked the protesters while chatting with his colleagues.

When our reporter contacted one of the organisers of the protest in Abuja, he said they were at Berger Roundabout, but not a single protester was sighted there.

Our reporter got back to him after checking Berger Roundabout and this time around, he said they were having a strategic meeting inside the stadium.

Just at the time of going to press, some supporters of the protest posted a video where about 25 people were seen dancing in a group.