Eagle Square public property, protest organisers dare Wike

The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has been informed by the organisers of the upcoming hunger strike in Abuja that nothing would prevent them from accessing Eagle Square.

Remember that the minister had received a letter from a group called Take It Back Movement requesting permission to hold their protest on August 1 in Eagle Square and requesting utilities and security to be provided for the entire protest period.

The group also demanded that the minister "ensure the provision of a 24-hour power supply, toilet facilities, water, and security for the convenience of Nigerian citizens who will be camped out at Eagle Square" in a letter on Friday that was signed by its Director of Mobilisation, Damilare Adenola.

But the minister said that protesters who wish to use Eagle Square must apply properly and pay security costs for their scheduled protest in the FCT.
During a Town Hall Meeting held in the Conference Room of the Federal Capital Development Authority in Abuja on Saturday, Wike said the group had only applied via social media and television appearances.
In an interview with Channels Television's Sunday Politics, Adenola stated that Wike is forced to permit the demonstration to be held there by "hungry Nigerian youths."

He attributed the letter's delivery delay to government bureaucracy and assured that Wike would receive the letter on Monday in advance of the demonstration that is scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Eagle Square is public property, according to Adenola, thus the minister shouldn't be expecting the young people participating in the protest to pay the astronomical amount he is requesting.

"It's possible that the government's bureaucracy is causing a delay in the letter's receipt, or the minister may be lying about receiving it," he stated.

Should he (Wike) maintain that he hasn’t received it, the alternative is that he was served by publication because many Nigerian ministries streamline what to receive or not. If he says he didn’t get it physically, then we could as well say that he was served by publication.
"We'll serve him if he says he wants it by Monday. Eagle Square is, in actuality, a public space. I was astounded to see the minister on film requesting that we pay our rent, security deposits, and other expenses.

"I would want to ask the minister a question: how does he expect the larger number of unemployed and destitute Nigerian young to be able to pay the outrageous fees he is requesting from us? On August 1st, we will be in the Eagle Square.

Speaking further, Adenola asserted that the Department of State Services had ordered the blocking of his organization's bank account.

Furthermore, he said, the bank was still to respond to the group’s letters.

“The account of the TIB was arbitrarily blocked by UBA allegedly on the orders of the DSS,” he said.