There was a noticeable heavy presence of security personnel at the Moshood Abiola International Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta, on Tuesday.
According to The PUNCH, soldiers, police officers, and members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were stationed at the venue, which had been designated as one of the protest locations for the #FearlessInOctober movement.
Despite the robust security arrangement, our Correspondent, who visited the stadium at around 11 a.m., reported that there were no signs of protesters at the scene.
This absence of demonstrators left the security forces guarding an empty venue, prepared for an anticipated protest that did not materialize at that time.
It is worth recalling that just a day prior, the State High Court in Abeokuta had issued an order limiting the #FearlessInOctober protest groups to four specific locations across Ogun State.
These venues included the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta, Gateway International Stadium in Sagamu, Dipo Dina Stadium in Ijebu Ode, and Ansar-Ud-Deen Comprehensive High School in Ota.
The court’s ruling was seen as an effort to manage the protest by containing it to specific, controlled environments.
However, our Correspondent observed that none of the designated venues, including the Moshood Abiola Stadium, had any protesters present.
This led to widespread speculation about whether the protest would happen at all, as no demonstrators had been spotted in other parts of the state either.
Coinciding with the protest restrictions, the traditional celebration of Nigeria’s Independence Day, which is usually held at the stadium, was moved to the Arcade Ground, situated within the Governor’s Office at Oke Mosan.
The change of location, possibly due to the planned protests, underscored the heightened security and cautious atmosphere surrounding public events in the state.
As the day progressed, it became clear that despite the anticipation and the heavy security presence, the #FearlessInOctober protest had yet to materialize at any of the designated venues or elsewhere in the state.
The absence of demonstrators left an eerie calm over what was expected to be a day of civil activism.
