Nigeria’s service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police have vowed to resist any move for an unlawful change of government amid the #EndBadGovernance protests rocking the nation.
Thousands of Nigerians had trooped into the streets owing to the rising cost of living. Days into the demonstrations, some of the protesters in the northern region were spotted waving the Russian flag, a development that has caused concern among stakeholders.
In a security briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, they vowed to defend the country’s democracy.
“I want to, on behalf of the officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army, state unequivocally that the Nigerian Army stands assured in defense of our democracy, peace, and harmony and we are not going to shift ground on that.
“So my appeal to youths is that what we have witnessed in the past five days is an investment, needless investment of blood of treasure,” the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja said.
“Calling for an unconstitutional change of government. The army will not sit by and watch the nation slide into anarchy.”
‘Offense of Treason’
On his part, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) warned those he said started subversive campaigns by waving the Russian flag.
He said some of them have been arrested and will be dealt with decisively for the offence the IGP said constitutes a treasonable felony.
“This is not a protest but an offense of treason. The Nigeria police have arrested a number of them and they will be dealt with accordingly,” the IGP.
“It is very, very implicating for them to be seen with flags of other countries while on protest.”
‘Unconstitutional Take Over’
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa also echoed a similar sentiment, warning those who encourage what he described as the “unconstitutional take over of government.”
“We’re going to respect human rights, the rights of everyone who is lawfully performing his task or his duty,” the CDS said.
“But we would not relent in pursuing those that have continued to encourage unconstitutional take over of government or subversion or those into vandalising or destruction of lives and properties.”
‘They Have Been Watchlisted’
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Comptroller-General Kemi Nandap was also part of the briefing and said the sponsors of the “mayhem” that greeted the protests have been identified and on its watchlist.
“Some of these sponsors are in the diaspora. We have a number of them who actually instigated this mayhem we are seeing right now. What we have done is that we have them on our watchlist; they have been watchlisted,” the NIS chief said.
“They are in our radius. We are making sure any attempt they make to come into the country, we’ll notify the necessary authorities and we working closely with the NIA and of course, the DSS and the NSA’s office.”
The spokesman of the Department of the State Services (DSS) Peter Afunanya also promised to name the sponsors of those carrying the Russian flag.
According to him, the DSS sees the development as an insurrection to Nigerians. He called on Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government.
“There are some aspects of our operations that we may not sit before the camera and begin to reel out either because of their sensitivity or we are not supposed to say them now or because there are ongoing investigations and we may not say things to jeopardise those investigations,” he said.
“But I can assure you, be patient with us. You will hear from us sooner than later. We are not sleeping over the issues. We would take it to the end and you would be surprised if at all, we declare the information to the public.”
‘Bring Down Prices of Food Items’
One of the reasons for the protests is the high cost of food items. To address the issue, the Federal Government had earlier suspended duties and taxes on imported food and pharmaceutical items.
At the briefing, the Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adeniyi said the measure will help to reduce the prices of food items.
“The protest was premised on a number of things, one of them being to end hunger. We discovered that a significant amount of food consumed in Nigeria is imported. Importation takes some time. So, one of the things the president has done to cushion the effect of the cost of importation is to suspend customs duties and taxes on imported food items for a period of time,” he said.
“We believe that when this is implemented, it will help to bring down prices of food items in the markets. Nigerian Customs is committed to the implementation of this particular fiscal policy as enunciated by the government.”
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