PROTESTS: Military Ready to Step In if Violence Escalates – CDS 

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has warned that the military will step in to assist the police and other security agencies if the ongoing protests in some parts of the country escalate into violence.

Musa made this statement while briefing journalists on the first day of the protests, emphasizing that the military has been on standby to support the police since the protests began.

“We will not stand by and watch things get out of hand,” Musa stated. “The military is determined to ensure total peace in all parts of the country with the support of all Nigerians.”

He urged citizens to understand the government’s efforts, acknowledging that there are challenges, but emphasizing that the military will not allow criminals or individuals with hatred for the government to take advantage of the situation and destroy the country.

“The military is ready to intervene if necessary to maintain law and order,” Musa warned.

“Monies that are meant for development will have to be used to repair the destruction thing so that we can move forward.

“So instead of doing that, we should come together, make sure nothing is destroyed,” he said.

He said that the recent autonomy granted the local government to be able to get fundings directly from the federation account would ensure that people at the grassroots get the feel of the government.

The CDS urged Nigerians to look up to their local government and their state governments.

“I want to appeal once again for the support of all Nigerians, the federal government, the state government and local governments and let us avoid anything that will bring mayhem within our communities.

“We have seen the level of destruction that were carried just yesterday and you can imagine if this continues for so long.

“The armed forces and the entire security agencies will not stand by and see that to continue.

“We want to warn those that are in the house, those that don’t want to listen. We will not fold our hands and see our country destroyed.

“We will take action and the action will be taken professionally. Anyone that is caught will be taken to the courts to be dealt with,” he added.

Musa said the military had remained professional in its conduct since the commencement of the protest.

He said that the federal government has shown its commitment by upholding its promise of allowing people to associate freely.

“Clearly, the security forces have done extremely well and I’m very happy to mention one, especially the Nigerian police force, have shown a lot of professionalism, including where members of the armed forces had to step in.

“You can see that we have remained very professional in our conduct and we will continue to do that as long as the citizens also understand that there is a difference between peace and criminality.

“What we saw yesterday was, at the beginning, some semblance of a very peaceful demonstration, but which was quickly taken over by a bunch of criminals that don’t mean us well.

“And if you remember, we have warned that there are individuals that are ready to cause mayhem once this starts.

“And so I want to appeal to Nigerians to understand that the federal government is doing the best it can for the country,” he said.

Police disperse Abuja protesters, shoot hoodlums

Some Nigerians, including journalists who reconvened on Friday for the protest were injured after police made attempts to disperse them in Abuja.

It was gathered that when the demonstration began at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, protesters refused to be confined to a spot as directed by an FCT High Court order, and also ignored police warnings against holding a procession.

As tension mounted and protesters decided to stage a walk, they were ambushed near the National Hospital area, and dispersed with tear gas and live ammunition.

Five injured protesters said they jumped into the bush when the shooting started.

It was learnt that when other protesters heard about the police harassment, they left the national stadium to reconvene at the Berger Roundabout, but were tear-gassed.

A few minutes after being tear-gassed, the defiant protesters reconvened, vowing not to back down until their demands were met by the Federal Government.

A protester, who gave his name as Tari, criticised the police, saying the group would not be intimidated.

Another protester, Michael Zayi, said if the President had listened to Nigerians earlier, the situation would not have escalated.

He maintained that protesters were committed to demanding better lives for all citizens despite the use of force.

But the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, in a statement on Friday, directed hospitals and medical personnel to report anyone who presented with gunshot wounds to the nearest police station.

The command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, noted that policemen engaged some hoodlums in “a fierce gun duel”, with many escaping with gunshot injuries.

According to him, the hoodlums took advantage of the hunger protest to embark on extortion and assault of innocent citizens along the Lugbe end of the FCT.

Adeh revealed that residents alerted the police to the development.

“Following distress calls about the activities of some hoodlums who took advantage of the ongoing protests, which began on Thursday, 1st August 2024, to block the Lugbe end of the Shehu Musa Yaradua Expressway at about 10pm, embarking on massive robbery and assault of innocent citizens, which led to an exchange of fire with police operatives in the Lugbe area of Abuja, the FCT Command hereby puts all medical personnel in and around the Federal Capital Territory on high alert to the possibility of receiving victims with gunshot wounds,” she said.

Adeh explained that the command was making the request in line with the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017.

She said the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh, warned against committing crimes under the guise of protest.

Police tear gas demonstrators, journalist in A’Ibom

In Akwa Ibom State, men of the state police command were reported to have fired tear gas canisters at a group of protesters who gathered at the Ibom Plaza to continue the hunger protest for the second day.

A journalist with the New Nigerian Newspapers in Akwa Ibom State was also tear-gassed while interviewing protesters.

One of our correspondents reported that the group was singing solidarity songs when the police opened the canisters on them and marched them to Unity Park, along Udoudoma Avenue, where they had been restricted to.

A protester, who spoke on condition of anonymity at the plaza before the police intervened, said they were protesting because life in Nigeria was becoming increasingly unbearable for the average person.

He said, “We are here to protest against the high cost of fuel. In this country, we can do better as a people. We cannot produce crude oil in Nigeria and buy fuel for N900 per litre. This is unacceptable.

“An average person can no longer feed their family because of the current state of affairs. The Federal Government claims to have increased the minimum wage, but it is worthless as it cannot even buy a bag of rice. If you earn N70,000, you need to borrow N20,000 to buy a bag of rice. We want the price of a bag of rice to be reduced to N10,000 and the price of fuel to drop to N100.”

Security operatives brutalise Bauchi PWD in wheelchair

In Bauchi State, security guards at the Government House gate wrestled with the leader of the Initiative for the Liberalisation of Physically Challenged People, Hamza Waziri.

In a trending video on social media, the security agents can be seen hitting the victim while he sits in his wheelchair.

Waziri stated that he was on the street of the government house alongside other physically challenged persons while exercising their constitutional right of peaceful demonstration when they were attacked by the guards.

He said, “I was doing a live video so one of the policemen came to me and said that I had filmed him and they were trying to grab the phone from me. As they were struggling to grab the phone from my hand, they kept brutalising me. They gave me a couple of punches as you can see from the video.

“There were not more than 10 of us, but I was the only one actually standing in front of the Government House just to raise our placards that said, ‘Employment should be for all’, ‘Everybody should be allowed to be employed’, ‘Inclusive Society’.”

Mukhtar Gidado, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, said an investigation was ongoing into the incident.

Hoodlums attack Yobe Red Cross office, burn vehicles

In Yobe, hoodlums attacked the office of the Red Cross in Gujba, Maiduguri-Potiskum Road, Damaturu, the state capital, destroying property and setting a vehicle ablaze.

Photos and videos obtained by our correspondents showed the vehicle on fire, as well as another Red Cross-branded Landcuiser and a bus damaged with their windows smashed.

When contacted on Friday, the Coordinator of Communications and Advocacy for the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Chima Nwankwo, confirmed the incident to newsmen.

“The office was attacked around 1pm this afternoon (Friday). Some of our property, air conditioners, and vehicles were destroyed and they took some away, burnt our cars but there was no casualty,” he said.

He described the assailants as a “mob” with unclear motivations.

“They simply came to vandalise our property,” he said.

Protest organisers disagree with lawyer

The lawyer to the protest organisers, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, in a statement on Friday, called for the suspension of the protest, saying it had been hijacked by hoodlums.

He appealed that the protest be stopped immediately to avoid more casualties.

While berating the President for not engaging the organisers at the earlier stage, Adegboruwa warned that no leader should ever take the citizens for granted again.

He said, “Notice of this protest was given many weeks ago, yet nothing was done to engage the organisers of the protests in order to address the issues raised in their charter of demands. It is the same way that the government ignores several strike notices issued by the Labour unions until they eventually snowball into strike actions. This should not be so.”

But reacting, an activist, Omoyele Sowore, said the call for suspension was Adegboruwa’s view and not that of the organisers.

He said, “No, he has made it clear that it is his private opinion. “

The Director of Mobilisation, Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, said the protest would be called off when their demands had been met.

He said, “We don’t agree. He doesn’t speak for us. The protest will be suspended when the government meet our demands. Anything short of that would not pack us out of the streets.”