The military on Friday warned looters taking advantage of the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests to desist from the destruction of lives and properties.
At a press conference in the nation’s capital Abuja on the second day of the rallies against economic hardship and high cost of living, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, said the extent of destruction experienced on the first day of the demonstrations was “crazy”.
He said the Armed Forces will take action and won’t allow the looting and destruction to fester.
The defence chief said the Bola Tinubu administration has been in power for one year and the government has been doing its best to boost economic activities.
General Musa said the economic crisis and high cost of living in Nigeria is a global phenomenon. He urged Nigerians to give the government time to address the challenges.
He said, “So, we want to call on all Nigerians to understand the government. If you have grievances, which I know people have, a lot of challenges here and there, and it is not only in Nigeria alone; everywhere in the world is facing one economic or security crisis or the other. And so, it is important to understand that we are not alone.
“But what we can do is not allow criminals and individuals that have lost out to take advantage of this to destroy our country. We should realise that these destructions, monies have to be used to replace them so that we can move forward.”
Youths Protest High Living Cost
Tension was palpable in parts of Nigeria on Thursday as the much-touted #EndBadGovernance protests finally kicked off in almost all the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
On the first and second day of the protests, policemen were seen dispersing the demonstrators, mostly youths, using tear gas, even as civil society organisations (CSOs) condemned the action of the police.
The protests turned awry when some hoodlums took advantage of the demonstrations and looted public and private assets.
In a bid to curb the looting, violence and other after-effects of the protests, the Kano, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Nasarawa, Jigawa and other state governments imposed curfews in volatile local government areas (LGAs) in their states.
Some deaths have also been recorded, as claimed by Amnesty International. The Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun said a policeman was murdered, some cops injured, and police stations burnt.
Propagated on social media, the nationwide protests against economic hardship started on Thursday, August 1, 2024, and have been scheduled to stretch till August 10 across all states of the Federation as well as the nation’s capital Abuja.
Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.
Some of the demands of the protesters include the restoration of petrol subsidies and the forex regime. They also want the government to address food shortages, unemployment and wasteful spending by those in power. Other demands are immediate reforms of the electoral umpire INEC and anti-graft agency EFCC with renewed vigour in the fight against corrupt politicians.
‘Avoid Mayhem’
The defence chief said the message of peaceful protesters has already been passed to the federal, state and local governments.
He appealed to peaceful protesters not to allow troublemakers and fifth columnists to bring mayhem to the nation.
“We know we are challenged as a nation but we know we will overcome working together as Nigerians… Let us avoid anything that will bring mayhem to our country,” he said.
‘We Will Take Action’
General Musa said the level of destruction witnessed in some places on Thursday was unimaginable and the military won’t fold its arms.
“Yesterday (Thursday), we saw the level of destruction that has been carried out. Just yesterday. So you can imagine if this continues for so long.
“Yesterday, we saw some people breaking down houses, stealing windows and doors. It was just crazy yesterday and we don’t want that to happen again.
“The Armed Forces and the entire security agencies will not stand by and see that to continue. We want to warn those that are recalcitrant; those that don’t want to listen that we will not fold our arms and allow this country to be destroyed.
“We will take action and the action we will take, we will take it professionally. Anyone that is caught will be taken to court and will be dealt with,” he said.
“There are a bunch of people who believe that it is only through this medium that they will be able to loot, steal and destroy. And that is what they tried to do yesterday but we have arrested most of them that broke into places to steal and they will be prosecuted accordingly,” he added.
Military May Step In If…
The defence chief said the security forces stood up to their responsibilities on Thursday and the situation has been nipped.
General Musa said the police have been doing a good job managing the situation but the military won’t hesitate to step in if the situation degenerates.
“We are supporting the police all through. We are just on standby. The police is doing a good job; they are handling the situation for now. Unless it breaches beyond what they can handle then the military will step in. The military is on standby and we are watching day and night,” he said.
‘Sponsors Will Be Identified’
He further said some sponsors of the looting will be identified and dealt with.
“We are also going behind to ensure that we also identify those that are involved; there are individuals who are sponsoring them, pushing them to do this, we are going after them,” he said.
He urged the media not to give some people “who want a moment of fame” the opportunity.
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