A journalist with Channels Television, Charles Opurum, says he was brutally assaulted and detained by officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) while covering the “Take It Back” protest in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Monday, April 7, 2025.

Opurum’s experience adds to a chorus of distressing accounts from various protesters who were teargassed, chased, and, in some cases, injured during what according to them was meant to be a peaceful procession.

The protest, part of a nationwide action demanding good governance and restoration of democracy in Rivers State, took a violent turn under the CFC Flyover at Garrison, Port Harcourt when policemen fired tear gas canister at the protesters.

Among those caught in the chaos caused by policemen under the watch of Olugbenga Adepoju, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, was Opurum, who was on official duty.

Incidentally, Adepoju was the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, under whose watch policemen allegedly fired hot water and live bullets at Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi ubara on Monday, October 30, 2023.

Opurum lamented that a policeman “grabbed me by the shirt and trousers and kept slapping me, even after I showed him my ID”.

“He said, ‘Even if you’re a journalist, if we tell you not to protest, you must listen, I told him, ‘Oga, I am not protesting, I’m only here to report.”

He was eventually released when other officers recognized and identified him and apologized to.

“They said, ‘You’re our person,’ but I asked, ‘Are you just going to say sorry after all the beating”.

Similar testimonies came from protest leaders and participants, who accused security agencies of using excessive force despite earlier agreements with the Police.

One of the protest conveners, Nwala Thierry noted they got approval from the police before going ahead with the protest.

“We had approval from the Commissioner of Police, the police initially agreed to provide protection but later turned on the crowd with teargas and bullets.

“They shot a protester in the leg; he’s in the hospital now, this is a shame on the Nigerian government.”

A former spokesperson for the Rivers State Civil Society Coalition, Solomon Lenu described the crackdown by the police on unarmed protesters as the death of democracy in Nigeria.

He blamed the Federal Government and some top political figures for using brute force to suppress dissent.

“The democracy our people died for has ended. We are now under a full-blown dictatorship, protesting is a right guaranteed in the Constitution, and they are trampling on it.”

Amanye King said protesters only came out to demand constitutional order and the reinstatement of the ousted state government.

“We have a social contract with our governor, not with any sole administrator, this government in Rivers State is alien to our people “.

The “Take It Back” movement and its supporters are demanding the reinstatement of the elected Rivers State Governor and House of Assembly, an end to the “sole administration” system, the repeal of the Cybercrime Act, the restoration of democratic institutions, protection of the constitutional right to peaceful protest.