NO fewer than 4,200 police officers have been deployed to various strategic locations in the Federal Capital Territory ahead of the planned nationwide protest, scheduled to begin on August 1.
In a statement on Friday, July 26, the FCT Police Command, said in anticipation of the planned nationwide protest by Nigerians, it had also deployed material and explosive ordnance device experts at the command’s disposal across the nation’s capital.
“The proactive deployment, which is aimed at ensuring public safety, protection of protesters, and preventing protests from being hijacked by non-state actors, is characterised by visibility policing, the deployment of explosive ordinance devices (EOD) experts and personnel at various strategic locations, raids on identified black spots, uncompleted buildings/shanties, stop and search, vehicular and foot patrol and synergy with sister security agencies.
“The Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Benneth C. Igweh psc, mni, while acknowledging the right of residents to protest, advises that it should be peaceful. The CP vows to resist all forms of violent protest and lawlessness, as the police will not be stampeded into allowing the destruction of public and private properties or loss of lives,” the statement added.
While the police agreed with citizens’ right to protest, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had vowed that the city would not see a protest under his watch.
The ICIR reports that some Nigerians, along with a group led by former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, have been mobilising for nationwide protests scheduled for the first week of August.
The posts and tweets on the protest carry different hashtags, ranging from #RevolutionNow, #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, #TakeItBack, #DaysofRage and #TinubuMustGo.
However, since then, some state actors, including the presidency, military, SSS and police, have threatened the protest organisers, calling on them to suspend the plan.
THE ICIR reported how the Nigerian military accused the organisers of the planned protest of intending to replicate the recent protest demonstration in Kenya, which led to deaths, destruction and drastic actions from the country’s president.
“The Armed Forces on its part will not stand by and allow anarchy to befall our nation,” a Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said at a media briefing in Abuja, on Thursday, July 25.
“While citizens have the right to peaceful protest, they do not have the right to mobilise for anarchy and unleash terror,” Buba added, noting that “The level of violence being envisaged can only be described as a stage for anarchy.”
The military’s stance aligns with the positions of a few other state actors, including the presidency and the police, who have also issued stern warnings against any protest.
The Inspector General of Police, on Tuesday, July 23, expressed similar sentiments, warning that “some groups of people, self-appointed crusaders and influencers, have been strategising and mobilising potential protesters to unleash terror in the land under the guise of replicating the recent Kenya protests,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had warned the Nigerian government against engaging in a “war-war” situation with Nigerians by trying to suppress citizens’ fundamental right to protest.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M