Hoodlums hijacking protests should not be mischaracterised – Awosanya

Villagers count the dead after gunmen from a suspected criminal gang attacked the village market in Goronyo in northwest Nigeria's Sokoto state, killing 43 people.

In Turkey, young people recently expressed their frustration with the authorities when students protested an ongoing spike in housing prices. This protest movement reflects the growing difficulties of the general population amid sky-high living costs, even as the government refuses to acknowledge the economic crisis. Our Istanbul correspondents Ludovic de Foucaud, Hussein Asad and Shona Bhattacharyya report.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.⁣

Under Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, every person is entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons. On 20 October 2021, some Nigerians will be doing exactly that in commemoration of the anniversary of the violent crackdown on peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate.

One year later, Eti-Inyene Godwin Akpan, a photojournalist who went out to document the #ENDSARS protest of 20 October 2020, shares his story and encounter with Nigeria's secret police, the Department of State Services.⁣⁣

One year after security forces violently suppressed mass protests against police brutality and bad governance, Nigeria's continued to demand better policing and governance for its leaders. Under heavy police watch, dozens of protesters rallied in a procession of cars waving green and white national flags from windows at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos, the site of the crackdown on last year’s #EndSARS demonstrations while the big question persists, what has changed?

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. ⁣

“We came out here to honour our fallen brothers and sisters and they are telling us not to do so. Who does that,” asked a protester on as Nigerians, in their hundreds, gathered in Lagos and other Nigerian cities on Wednesday observed a memorial of last year’s long-drawn #EndSARS protests, which turned on its head on 20 October 2020.⁣⁣

A year ago, Akinwunmi hoisted a pole bearing the Nigerian and ENDSARS flags above his head to draw attention to the protest movement against police brutality in Lagos. Now known by thousands as Flagboii, Akinwunmi keeps waving his flag to "fight for a good country."

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Saturday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.⁣ ⁣

The Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, is set to become the first state hospital in Africa to perform robotic-assisted surgery, following the launch of the state-of-the-art Da Vinci X-I surgical robot.⁣⁣ The four-armed robot will aid surgeons in carrying out complex surgeries on patients in a less invasive and shorter period of time.⁣⁣

The third such major attack this year in Nigeria resulted in over 800 inmates being freed from a state prison. Police have since managed to rearrest more than 200 escapees.