- Warns Against Violent Protests
By Abiola Olawale
As the scheduled day for the planned nationwide protest approaches, the military has raised an alarm that it received information that the organizers of the protests intend to replicate the examples of the recent demonstrations in Kenya that turned into anarchy.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, who addressed a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday warned against any form of violence.
Buba strongly stated that the military won’t allow anarchy to befall Nigeria. He clarified that although citizens have a right to ventilate their grievances, the military won’t condone any form of violent gatherings or protests.
He said: “While citizens have the right to peaceful protest, they do not have the right to mobilise for anarchy and unleash terror.
“It is easy to see that the contemporary context of the planned protest is to shadow the outrage in Kenya which I must say is violent and remains unresolved.”
He added:”The level of violence being envisaged can only be described as a stage for anarchy. The Armed Forces on its part will not stand by and allow anarchy to befall our nation. This is because we have seen wars and have witnessed anarchy in countries with which we have operated, particularly in times of ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) and during our peacekeeping operations in various countries.”
The New Diplomat reports that the proposed nationwide protests have been gaining traction on social media.
It is scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August.
The protest is said to be against the economic hardship and the escalating prices of food and basic commodities which have gone through the roof in the last months.
However, President Bola Tinubu, governors and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have appealed to Nigerians to shelve the planned protest slated for next month in the interest of peace and development.
