Our reporter/ The Defence Headquarters on Thursday vowed to resist any protest in the country capable of reflecting the bloody one recently recorded in Kenya over a controversial finance bill seeking increased taxes on people in the East-African country.
There have been plans for a nationwide protest against worsening economic conditions in Nigeria, slated to commence on August 1.
But at a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, stated that the military would not allow anarchy in Nigeria.
Buba said that though citizens have the right to protest and express their grievances, organisers of the protest planned to mimic the recent Kenyan anarchy, vowing that the military would not condone any form of violence.
He noted that the military had uncovered schemes by dishonest people to hijack the protest and incite violence against defenceless Nigerians and their establishments. He added that while some people fantasise about war, they cannot imagine the destruction emanating from it.
“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 said.
“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,” Buba said.
According to him, some people fantasise about war thinking that it is like seeing movies but can’t fathom the destructions that come with war.
The police had also warned against violent protests come next month.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu, governors and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have appealed to Nigerians to shelve the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for next month.
The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August. The organisers of the protest have been faceless.
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