In what is a planned peaceful protest organised to demand good governance from Nigeria’s federal government under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian Army (NA) has issued a statement cautioning organisers against any form of violence.
This was disclosed Thursday at a press brief in Abuja by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, who warned that the military won’t allow any form of anarchy to befall the country.
The planned peaceful protest dated 1st – 15th August is to demand accountability. Buba has alleged that the organisers intend to replicate the recent “protest-turn-anarchy” demonstration in Kenya, an East African country.
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,” Buba said.
According to Buba, the NA examined whether or not other organisations had fed on the frustrations of Nigerians to create the situation.
However, for us in the military, the constitution is clear regarding how and when the military gets involved.
The constitution also clearly defines the roles and functions of the armed forces, he added.
While he did not mention names, he stated some “unscrupulous” elements are bent on hijacking the protests for violent purposes.
Relative to Tinubu’s directive, Buba urged the citizens to note that both the timing and the atmosphere of hardship in the country had made the planned protest different from others in the past; hence, “It is time to let cool heads prevail for government to remedy the situation further and make our nation flourish again,’’ he said.