By SCM REPORTER Abuja, Nigeria
THOUSANDS of furious protesters have set up camp outside Nigeria’s National Assembly, vowing to stay until lawmakers scrap a controversial move to block real-time election results.
The “Occupy NASS” movement exploded into life after the Nigerian Senate rejected a bid to make the electronic transmission of results mandatory—a move critics say is a “deliberate sabotage” of democracy.
Leading the charge is former presidential hopeful Peter Obi, who joined a sea of demonstrators and civil society groups on the streets of the capital, Abuja.
Obi, whose “Obidient” movement shook the political establishment last year, was seen alongside human rights icons and labour leaders demanding transparency for the 2027 polls.
‘BETRAYAL’
The row kicked off when senators voted to keep the “discretionary” rules for results transmission, effectively snubbing public demands for a system that uploads polling unit scores instantly to a public portal.
”This is a direct assault on the will of the people,” said one protester, wrapped in the Nigerian flag.
“They want to take us back to the days of manual rigging and ‘magic’ numbers. We aren’t moving until they fix it.”
Civil society giants, including the Movement for Credible Elections, have branded the Senate’s decision a “calculated move to facilitate fraud.”
CAMPING OUT
Despite a heavy presence of armed police and soldiers, the crowd has refused to budge. Tents have been pitched, and “solidarity kitchens” have appeared as the protest enters what organisers call a “prolonged siege.”
PANIC IN THE SENATE
The sheer scale of the “people power” on display has sent shockwaves through the corridors of power.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has been forced to call an emergency plenary session for tomorrow, Tuesday, February 10, as lawmakers scramble to address the growing crisis.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has already warned that if the Senate doesn’t perform a U-turn, they will shut down the country with a national strike.
For now, the message from the gates of the Senate is loud and clear: The world is watching, and the Nigerian people have had enough.
