Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
FCT Police Command has confirmed that its operatives deployed teargas canisters to disperse a large crowd of protesters during the Democracy Day demonstrations in Abuja on Friday, June 12, 2026, resulting in the activation of its internal disciplinary machinery to investigate the conduct of officers involved in the incident. The clarification came hours after human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, and the Take-It-Back (TIB) Movement accused police operatives of unprovoked and excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators.
Confirming the development in a statement issued in the wake of the incident, FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said the Command received credible intelligence that the protest could be hijacked by criminal elements seeking to exploit the gathering to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens and destroy public and private property. “In a bid to prevent the breakdown of law and order and protect the lives and property of other residents of the FCT not involved in the protest, the operatives at the scene deployed teargas canisters, which is a standard non-kinetic crowd control weapon used by police forces worldwide to disperse violent gatherings,” Adeh said. She added that the Force is committed to the protection of citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, and that no individual or group will be allowed to infringe on the rights of others.
The protest, which began at the popular Berger Bus Stop and was heading towards the Federal Secretariat and Eagle Square, attracted hundreds of Nigerians carrying placards with inscriptions such as “End Bad Governance Now”, “Books Not Bullets”, “Stop the Killings”, “Stop Kidnapping Our Children”, “Enough Is Enough” and “Security Is A Right, Not A Privilege”. The demonstrators demanded immediate government action to address worsening economic hardship, soaring food prices, banditry, mass abduction of schoolchildren, unemployment and the deteriorating cost of living. Rapper and activist Falz, alongside renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), also led a separate protest in Lagos under the #EndBadGovernance Movement.
Sources told SaharaReporters that as the protesters approached Eagle Square, police operatives stationed around the area fired teargas canisters at close range at the crowd. Sowore was among those directly hit, inhaling the toxic fumes and struggling to catch his breath. Fellow protesters quickly moved him away from the scene to provide assistance. While Sowore was receiving attention, the police reportedly fired another round of teargas, causing panic and confusion among protesters and commuters. Despite the disruption, the protesters later regrouped and continued their march, vowing not to be deterred by what they described as harassment and intimidation.
Addressing journalists shortly after the incident, Sowore condemned the police action as “lawless” and accused the operatives of using excessive force against unarmed civilians. “Nigerians must be liberated from the shackles of oppressors,” Sowore said. He had earlier, in a statement by the Take-It-Back Movement, accused the government of failing in its primary responsibility of protecting the lives and property of citizens, noting that Nigerians were increasingly becoming victims of kidnappings, bandit attacks and violent crimes across different parts of the country.
The protest coincided with President Bola Tinubu’s Democracy Day broadcast, where he acknowledged that the abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo and Borno had dampened the national mood and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to security, noting that the 2026 budget commits a record N5.41 trillion to defence and security and that 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised in the past year. However, the protest organisers remained unimpressed, calling for the immediate release of Nigerians held captive in Oyo, Borno, Ekiti, Kwara and other states, and describing official assurances as inadequate and ineffective.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, June 10, the coalition of civil society organisations, trade unions, youth groups, community associations, social movements and faith-based groups which organised the protest said, “For years, the people have been subjected to repeated assurances that insecurity is being defeated. Yet the killings continue. Communities are attacked, schools are threatened, farmers cannot safely access their farms, highways remain unsafe, and countless families continue to live with the pain of losing loved ones or having relatives in captivity.”
The coalition listed the removal of fuel subsidy, repeated increases in fuel prices, currency devaluation, rising electricity tariffs and the commercialisation of essential services as some of the policies that had pushed millions deeper into poverty. The coalition urged Nigerians to join the June 12 protest across the country to compel the government to take urgent steps to address insecurity and reverse what it described as anti-poor economic policies.
Despite the police action, the protests continued peacefully in other parts of the country, with security operatives monitoring the exercise. The FCT Police Command assured the public that officers deployed for the enforcement have been directed to conduct themselves professionally, courteously, and within the ambit of the law, and that any officer found violating these directives would face disciplinary action.
Above are the photographs of the protesters, including Sowore struggling to breathe after the teargas attack.
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