The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has announced that the military may be deployed if the upcoming #EndBadGovernance protests, scheduled for August, escalate and pose a significant threat to public safety.
Egbetokun made this statement during a virtual meeting with prominent human rights lawyers, including Femi Falana and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, representatives from the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society organizations, and the Take-It-Back Movement.
The IGP emphasized that the decision to involve the military would be a last resort, only considered if the protests spiral out of control and jeopardize public safety. The move aims to prevent potential violence and maintain order during the demonstrations.
“For those people who are threatening violence, most of them are faceless. Most of them remain faceless.
And for those of them that we have been able to trace, we have picked some of them up; they are already in our detention,” he stated.
The IGP further revealed that one individual had been arrested for inciting violence, including calls to bomb public places and burn down police stations.
The police chief’s comments reflect concerns over potential violence, drawing parallels to the 2020 #EndSARS protests, during which five police stations were burned in one day, prompting the Lagos State government to impose a curfew.
“The military will only come out when the situation gets out of hand,” Egbetokun clarified.
He added that the military’s involvement would be a last resort to prevent a recurrence of the chaos witnessed during the #EndSARS protests.
The IGP also proposed that the upcoming protests be confined to specific venues for security reasons, a suggestion that was met with resistance from the meeting attendees.
Egbetokun argued that a confined protest would help prevent the event from being hijacked by miscreants, cautioning that “it is not advisable to go on street processions because as you are planning peaceful protests, some are planning violence.”
However, this proposal was firmly rejected by concerned Nigerians, including the lawyers and civil society representatives present.
They argued that confining the protests would violate the constitutional right to assembly.
Adegboruwa, representing the Take It Back Movement, stated that while the designated venues would serve as meeting points, protestors would not be restricted to these locations during the planned 10-day demonstration.
This announcement comes as organizers prepare for the nationwide protests, which aim to address issues like bad governance, economic hardship, and hunger.
The IGP’s statement serves as a cautionary measure, highlighting the authorities’ commitment to maintaining public safety while respecting citizens’ right to peaceful assembly.
