Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has taken a swipe at Nigeria’s opposition leaders following the abrupt end to their anti-INEC protests, describing the exercise as ineffective.
The protests, which reportedly lasted three days, fizzled out without achieving their stated objectives, drawing criticism from Adeyanju, who questioned the capacity of opposition figures to mobilise sustained civic action against the government.
Former president Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President, David Mark who’s the National Chairman of the ADC, former presidential candidate Peter Obi and former transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi were along the top leaders in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that led the protest to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission following the derecognition of the ADC leadership as a result of internal party tussle.
INEC argued it relied on a court decision, a development the opposition said was a move to deny it the chance to contest the 2027 election.
Adeyanju on Monday lamented the abrupt end to the protest which he said did not achieve what the opposition wanted – full recognition of the leadership of the ADC headed by David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary.
He said, “The anti-INEC protests ended after three days without achieving anything, despite all the opposition leaders backing and funding it. These are the people that want to remove Bola Tinubu from power.”
He argued that the outcome of the demonstrations reflects a broader decline in activism and opposition politics in Nigeria, adding, “Activism and opposition in Nigeria is dead.”
Adeyanju contrasted the recent protests with past movements he participated in, particularly the #ResumeOrResign campaign during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, which demanded transparency on Buhari’s health status during his prolonged medical absence abroad.
“I remember how 14 of us shut down Nigeria under Buhari during the #ResumeOrResign movement, despite all the hired pro-government protests against us,” he said.
He also recalled organising a prolonged protest at the Unity Fountain in Abuja over the killing of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites.
“I also organised a 109-day protest against the killing of Shiites at the Unity Fountain,” Adeyanju stated.
The activist did not hold back in criticising leading opposition figures, including Atiku, Obi, and Amaechi, accusing them of failing to demonstrate resilience in sustaining the protests.
“But Atiku, Obi, Amaechi and others couldn’t sustain a protest for even one week,” he added.