The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, has stated that the military will intervene if the ongoing nationwide #EndbadGovernance protests continue to be violent,Daily Trust reports.
Musa was responding to the vandalism and looting that marked the protests in various parts of the country on Thursday. In Kano, protesters looted the newly built Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Industrial Park and set parts of it on fire. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) center was scheduled to be commissioned next week.
During a briefing with journalists on Friday, Musa urged protesters to understand that destruction is counterproductive and will only set the nation back.
While commending the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for its efforts to maintain order, he warned that the military would be compelled to step in if the violence continues.
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“We should realize that these destructions mean funds for development will have to be used to rebuild instead of advancing our nation. Instead, we should come together to ensure nothing is destroyed. The message has already been conveyed to local, state, and federal governments. We want to warn those who are recalcitrant, those who refuse to listen, that we will not stand by and watch our country be destroyed. We will take action, and it will be professional. Anyone caught will be brought to court. Let us avoid anything that will bring chaos to our communities. We have seen the level of destruction carried out just yesterday, and if this continues, the armed forces and all military security agencies will not stand by and allow it,” Musa stated.
Before the planned protest, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had indicated plans to involve the Armed Forces if the situation escalates. Speaking on Tuesday during a Zoom meeting with concerned Nigerians, Egbetokun mentioned that soldiers would be deployed to monitor public demonstrations if there were sufficient reasons to believe that the 2020 #EndSARS protests might repeat.
He had said, “For those threatening violence, most of them remain faceless. For those we have been able to trace, we have arrested some; they are already in our custody. We arrested one yesterday who was instigating people to bomb public places and burn down police stations. With respect to the military’s involvement, the military will only come out if the situation gets out of hand. During the #EndSARS protests, the military did not just come out. We forget that five police stations were burnt down in one day before the Lagos government announced a curfew.”
