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A counter-rally to the planned August 1st nationwide protest has begun in the island area of Bayelsa State, as many took to the streets with placards saying, “Say No to Protest. This comes as many Nigerians have engaged on social media, calling for protests in all 36 states of the federation to demand an end to bad governance in the country.In Bayelsa State, women were seen en masse with placards stating, “Say no to protest in Bayelsa.”

Reacting to the posts circulating online, human rights lawyer Festus Ogun stated on Facebook, “Hungry and jobless individuals are protesting against protests. This is outrightly ridiculous. Or, how do you see it?”

Another X user, Ifeanyi, stated, “One of the reasons they said Nigerians should not protest is because hoodlums might hijack the protest and end up destroying things. Therefore, they say no to protests. But today, there are some groups of people in the street, chanting ‘No to protest.’ So, are they saying hoodlums can’t hijack such a protest?”