“NIGERIANS ARE COMING BACK TO THE STREETS!” — Israel Joe Warns Tinubu Government As ₦800 Fuel Protest Saga Reopens: “We Said ₦800 Was Unbearable—Now Look At Today’s Prices!”; “I Was Ready To Be Arrested, Not Intimidated!”
By Passman Akpos
Human rights activist, Comrade Israel Joe, has reopened the debate over Nigeria’s economic hardship, recounting his arrest and detention during a February 23, 2024 protest against rising fuel prices and the worsening cost of living.
In a fresh account of the events, Joe recalled how he mobilised members of his organisation and other activists to protest the high cost of petrol, which he said had reached about ₦800 per litre at the time.
According to Joe, the planned protest attracted the attention of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and the military, who summoned him over concerns surrounding the planned demonstration.
Joe said he appeared before security authorities in Asaba after explaining that he could not simultaneously respond to invitations from security personnel in Abuja and Delta State.
He claimed that he went to Asaba with more than 30 members of his organisation, saying their presence prevented what he described as an attempt to take him to Abuja.
He recalled spending hours being interrogated by security authorities before subsequently meeting police officials and other activists.
Joe alleged that some individuals had told the police that he intended to “burn down Delta State” and that they would resist the planned protest.
He said he nevertheless maintained that the protest would go ahead.
“I told the police we would not back down,” Joe recalled.
The activist also claimed that the Delta State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress initially stood with the protesters before announcing its withdrawal around midnight.
Despite the withdrawal, Joe said he and his supporters proceeded with the planned action on February 23, 2024.
According to him, he arrived at the protest venue and met youths and human rights activists, while security personnel were also present.
Joe alleged that soldiers from the 3 Battalion of the Nigerian Army subsequently arrived with armoured vehicles and other military vehicles.
He recalled that the Commanding Officer approached him and asked, “Are you Israel Joe?”
“I said yes. He told me I was under arrest,” Joe said.
He further alleged that soldiers took hold of him and his colleague, Pemu Unurocheo, before transporting them to the military barracks.
Joe described the operation as a major security deployment, alleging that an armoured vehicle, Hilux vans and other military vehicles were involved.
He also recalled that some military personnel who knew him intervened and asked the soldiers not to embarrass him.
According to Joe, he and his colleague were detained at the military guardroom, where they were questioned by military intelligence.
He further alleged that they were later transferred to the police following calls received by the military authorities.
Joe claimed that the possibility of terrorism-related charges was raised during the subsequent police detention.
However, contemporaneous reports from February 2024 contained differing accounts of the circumstances surrounding the incident. While Joe described the episode as an arrest linked to the protest, the Delta State Police Command gave a different account, saying the soldiers had intervened amid tensions surrounding the protest.
The controversy surrounding the 2024 protest therefore remains a matter of competing accounts between the activist and security authorities.
Two years later, Joe says the economic questions that motivated the protest remain relevant.
He contrasted the petrol price that triggered the 2024 demonstration with today’s significantly higher prices and questioned why there has not been a similar level of public mobilisation.
“We said ₦800 was unbearable—now look at fuel prices!” Joe declared.
He also criticised what he described as the silence of sections of organised labour, activists, entertainers, religious leaders, traditional rulers, opposition politicians and online personalities over the country’s economic difficulties.
Those accusations are Joe’s claims and have not been independently established by Tarakirivoice
The activist ended his statement with a warning that Nigerians could once again take to the streets over economic hardship.
“NIGERIANS ARE COMING,” Joe declared.
His statement is likely to reignite debate over the balance between citizens’ right to peaceful protest, public order and the government’s response to economic hardship.
As Nigerians continue to debate the rising cost of living, fuel prices and the impact of economic reforms, Joe’s renewed warning places the issue of street protests and public discontent firmly back in the national conversation.
God bless Nigeria.
