HEADS of Nigerian security agencies have vowed to unravel the sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance protest and make them face the wrath of the law.
They vowed that the protest sponsors were already on the security watchlist while their accounts were being tracked.
They also said they would continue with the crackdown on criminals who have hijacked the protest in some parts of the nation.
The security chiefs, who briefed newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, August 6, described the hoisting of the Russian flag by protesters as treasonable, adding that such an attitude could not serve the nation’s interest or be termed as one of the protesters’ lawful demands.
They vowed to resist any possibility of a coup to remove the democratically-elected government of President Bola Tinubu. They said they had intelligence about the instigators of violence and attempts to forcefully change the government.
Present at the briefing were the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, Comptroller-General of NIS, Kemi Nandap, and the State Security Service spokesman, Peter Ifunaya.
Fielding questions from reporters, Nandap said “We have diaspora sponsors, they are on our watchlist. They are watchlisted, any attempt they make to come into the country, we’ll be notified and they will be picked up and handed to the appropriate authority.”
She said the government would never allow foreign interference in the country, adding that Immigration had deployed more officers to defend the country’s borders and keep a keen watch on the protest sponsors.
The briefing came hours after Tinubu met with all heads of security agencies in the country on Monday, August 5, to review the state of the nation’s security amid ongoing protests by aggrieved Nigerians.
The ICIR reported that insecurity, inflation, and a hike in the cost of living among others pushed many Nigerians to stage the protest.
Tinubu had stopped fuel subsidy and devalued the local currency – the naira – thus causing a spiral hike in food and commodity prices.
The protests, which began on Thursday, August 1, have been marred by violence, largely caused by the security operatives in places like Lagos and Abuja, where protesters have been subjected to tear gas and harassment.
In some states, political thugs have hijacked the protest to cause mayhem, attacking demonstrators and looting properties.
Despite attacks on peaceful protesters by security operatives, the security heads said during Tuesday’s briefing that their officers engaged the protesters professionally across the country.
They also noted that their officers used minimal force to disperse protesters from locations where the courts restricted them.
Egbetokun said several arrests had been made from violent protests in some parts of the country, stressing that the police only used tear gas during the protests.
While this is largely true in a state like Lagos, there have been reported incidents of police and SSS shooting at protesters in other states, especially in Abuja and the northern part of the country.
Police, SSS deny using bullets against journalists, protesters
The Police and SSS denied using bullets on protesters and journalists covering the protest in any part of the country.
Egbetokun and SSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, refuted the allegations while fielding questions from journalists.
Besides, Afunanya said one of the protest leaders, Ademoye Michael, reported to have been arrested by the SSS was not in the secret police’s custody.
Afunanya claimed the SSS and other security operatives conducted themselves professionally during the protest despite evidence of police officers watching when the officers suspected to be the SSS stormed the MKO Abiola Stadium, on Saturday, August 3, and opened fire at journalists and a few protesters left at the venue.
Arrested rioters have been charged to court
Similarly, Egbetokun noted that people arrested during the protest for engaging in criminal activities had been charged in court.
Security chiefs appeal to Nigerians
While the security chiefs reiterated their commitment to preventing anarchy, they appealed to Nigerians to refrain from the protests, which they noted had been hijacked by criminals.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, emphasised the importance of maintaining public order and ensuring the safety of all citizens.
Similarly, Egbetokun warned citizens to stop accepting foreign flags from “agents of destabilisation.”
He said, “This is not a protest, but an offence of treasonable felony. The police have arrested a number of them and they will be dealt with accordingly. I want to use this opportunity to warn our youth to desist from accepting foreign flags from agents of destabilisation.”
While also appealing to Nigerians, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, expressed hope that the suspension of duties and taxes on imported food items over some time would help reduce food prices.
Adeniyi said, “The protest was premised on a number of things, one of them being to end hunger. We discovered that a significant amount of food consumed in Nigeria is imported. ‘
“Importation takes some time. So one of the things the President has done to cushion the effects of the cost of importation is to suspend customs duties and taxes on imported food items for a period of time.”
He also called on Nigerians to be patient, noting that some of the imported items already in the country would be cleared without incurring duties and taxes.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M