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Nationwide Protest: Military Cautions Against Violence, Anarchy
The military high command has warned against the planned nationwide protest, citing concerns of anarchy and violence.
Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, gave the warning at the bi-weekly press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
He said the military will not stand by and allow the country to descend into chaos.
Buba noted that the military has identified signs of status-related violence, targeting individuals with smartphones, cars, houses, and businesses, as well as places of worship and members of opposing political parties. This, according to the military, indicates a level of violence that can be described as anarchy.
PRNigrria reports that this warning comes as Nigerians prepare for a nationwide protest on August 1st against the government’s handling of the economy and insecurity. However, the military warned that the timing and atmosphere of hardship in the country make this protest different from others in the past.
His words: “Some of which are whether or not the planned strike is motivated by opposition politics, independent parties, sovereign interference, terrorist groups or any numbers of organizations that have feed on the frustrations of Nigerians to create the situation.
“However, for us in the military, the constitution is clear as to how and when the military gets involved. The constitution also clearly defines the roles and functions of the armed forces. On the otherhand, while citizens have a constitutional right to peaceful protest, they do not have a right to mobilise for anarchy in order to unleash terror.
“The comptemporary context of the planned protest is to shadow happenings in Kenya which has so far been violent and unresolved to date.
Given the situation, there are already indicators that, unscrupulous elements are bent on hijacking the planned protest for violent purposes.”
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The DDMO said the military has been exposed to wars and have witnessed situations of anarchy in countries ravaged by war, particularly during ECOMOG or during peacekeeping operations. It is for this reason that, troops will act dutifully to forestall such ugly occurrences from happening in our nation.
He urged citizens to exercise restraint and allow the government to address the situation, rather than resorting to violence.
