President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and the Department State Service (DSS) Thursday described the planned nationwide August 1 protest over the current economic hardship in the country as an open invitation to chaos which the government won’t allow.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The president spoke at the Presidential Villa when he received Letter of Credence from the newly appointed United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Mills Jr.
”Our relationship with America is rich. We believe in democracy and freedom. Some of your predecessors worked hard during our transition to democracy, and we remember the likes of Ambassador Howard Jeter.
”We look forward to Nigeria and the United States continuously working to expand cooperation on shared goals and democratic values.
”During the military era, we made our voices heard against dictatorship, and I was part of the group that engaged in peaceful protests without resorting to the destruction of property.
”We have worked hard to ensure 25 years of unbroken democracy and I will continue to maintain this democracy.
”In as much as we believe that demonstrations are part of democracy, we will never encourage any protests that lead to the destruction of lives and property,” the president said.
And also in line with this, the military high command said those planning the protest want to replicate what is happening in Kenya in Nigeria and ultimately create a state of war.
They made the position known as the Department of State Services (DSS) alerted of a sinister plan by some elements to infiltrate the protest and use it to cause chaos and extreme violence.
DSS Director PR & Stratcoms Department, Dr. Peter Afunanya, said this in a statement Thursday in Abuja.
…The DSS alarm
Afunanya said: “The DSS has followed the discourse on planned protests in parts of the country in the coming weeks by persons and groups yet to identify themselves in the public as leaders of the plot. While peaceful protest is a democratic right of citizens, the Service has confirmed a sinister plan by some elements to infiltrate the protest and use it to cause chaos and extreme violence in the land.
“It has also identified the reason behind the protest to be political. The plotters desire to use the intended violent outcome to smear the federal and sub-national governments; make them unpopular and pitch them against the masses. The long term objective is to achieve a regime change especially at the centre.
“The Service has also identified, among others, the funding lines, sponsors and collaborators of the plot. However, it does not think that aggression should be the first line action in the instance, in handling the emerging scenario. It has instead, variously applied non kinetic and conflict resolution strategies, including moral suasion, stakeholder engagement and other multi-track diplomatic shuttles, to dissuade the planners from actualising their undesirable objective.”
“Based on the foregoing, the Service wishes to warn all the protest groups to eschew any form of proposed rage, anarchy and spoliation. While the different levels of Government have routinely explained their agenda to ameliorate alleged harsh economic conditions, the Service urges the prospective protesters to listen to the voice of reason, good conscience and patiently engage with the authorities, in the interest of peace.
“This has become important given that violence begets destruction of lives and property as well as serve as a distraction to governance. The agitators are encouraged to use ample ways available to them to channel their grievances without resorting to violence.
“The Service calls on people of goodwill, Leaders of Thought, Captains of Industry, Labour Unions, Student Associations, Youth Leaders, the Civil Society, Clergy, NGOs, Women groups, Civil Servants and Politicians to shun any invitation to participate in any orchestrated violence, deliberately designed to cause disaffection in the country.
Similarly, parents, guardians, heads of traditional and academic institutions are respectively urged to advise their children, wards, subjects and students not to take part in the planned protest. Let us all join hands to build a Nation without rancour, bitterness or stained banner.
“The Service will work with other sister security and law enforcement agencies to maintain peace. It will, where necessary, apply all legitimate methods to achieve this. Meanwhile, the website, dss.gov.ng; email address – dsspr@dss.gov.ng and Telephone lines +2349153391309; +2349088373514 will remain available to the members of the public who may wish to contact the Service,” added the secret police.
…DHQ warns
Handing down similar warning at the biweekly press briefing in Abuja, Director Defence Media Operations, Major-General Edward Buba, said the “armed forces will not watch and allow the nation spiral out of control to such low levels”
The DHQ said: “They want to replicate what is happening in Kenya in Nigeria, their targets are critical public infrastructures, worship places, marketplaces, our air and sea ports, and others, they want to create a state of war.”
He said: “Pertaining the planned nationwide protest, there are essentially several factors to be thoroughly examined. 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 other hand, 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 contemporary context of the planned protest is to shadow happenings in Kenya which have 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.”
Continuing, Buba said: “For instance, there are signs of status related violence such that persons with things as basic as a smart phone and car are targets. This does not leave out those that own a house, shop, or even use air conditioners in their houses. Other targets include; places of worship, businesses, markets, persons of other ethnic groups and members of opposing political parties among others.
“Based on the foregoing, the level of violence envisaged is best described as a state of anarchy. It is for this reason the armed forces will not watch and allow the nation spiral out of control to such low levels.
“Basically, the military has been exposed to wars and has 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.”
While noting that the timing and atmosphere of hardship in the country “make the planned protest different from others in the past,” the military high command said: “It is therefore incumbent upon us all, to quench the fires of violence rather than ignite them.
“It is time to let cool heads prevail in order for the government to further remedy the situation and make our nation flourish again.”
…On successes recorded
Speaking on successes recorded by the military in the last one week, the defence spokesperson said, troops deployed to different theatres of operations neutralised 106 terrorists and arrested 164 persons.
He said troops also arrested 32 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 103 kidnapped hostages from different locations.
General Buba said in the South-South, troops denied the oil thieves crude estimated to be worth the sum of Seven Hundred and Ninety Three Million Five Hundred and Thirty Six Thousand Naira (N793,536,000.00) only.
Speaking further, he disclosed that troops recovered 125 assorted weapons and 1,522 assorted ammunition.
He gave the breakdown thus: “41 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 24 locally fabricated gun, 28 dane guns, one pump action gun, 755 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 623 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 102 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 63 live cartridges, 247 empty case of 7.62mm ammo, 22 AK47 magazines, one baofeng radio, 22 vehicles, 31 motorcycles, 2 bicycles, 10 mobile phones and the sum of N2,956,000.00 only amongst other items.”
He said the ongoing multi-front military operations were focused on targeting the centre of gravity of terrorists and their cohorts across the country.
Buba said: “Accordingly, we are finding them, flushing them out and dismantling their military, administrative and logistics capabilities across the various theatres.
“The operations are going in an upward trajectory, even as we prioritised targeting the terrorist leaders, commanders, foot soldiers as well as their collaborators. Many of these categories of terrorists have been eliminated from the battlefield and we are after the others.
“Troops are not resting on their oars, but are persistent in exerting significant military pressure to defeat terrorists and their cohorts in North East, North West, and North Central Zones.
“In the South East zone, troops sustain the momentum against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and their armed Eastern Security Network (ESN) cohorts. While, in the South South zone troops continue to battle perpetrators of crude oil theft.”
…NSA expresses readiness to support governor
Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has assured state governors of support on measures to manage possible security threats that may arise from the planned protest.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) disclosed this in a communiqué issued after its meeting held Wednesday night.
The NGF said it “received a briefing from the National Security Adviser’s (NSA) office on the current security situation in the country.
“The NSA noted the growing momentum for a planned protest demanding government attention. The NSA is committed to supporting the governors in improving security architecture at the subnational level.
“The governors thanked the NSA and reinstated its commitment to enhance the security of lives and properties at the subnational.”
In the communiqué signed by NGF Chairman and Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, it said: “Members received a briefing from the body of Attorneys General of the 36 states on the Supreme Court ruling on the financial autonomy of local governments.
“Members received a briefing from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on the recent change in the association’s leadership and other initiatives. The NBA expressed their commitment to working with the states in defence of our democracy and the rule of law.
“The governors highlighted the importance of such a revered association and the role they play in ensuring effective governance. They assured the governors of their continued collaboration and readiness to provide necessary support.
“The forum received a presentation from the Honorable Minister of Health and Social Welfare on the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Program (NHSRIP).
“The minister provided updates on the Sector-Wide Approach, the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), Primary Health Care (PHC) Revitalisation, and the National Supply Chain Management.
“Governors reiterated their commitment to improving health outcomes for all Nigerians. Members received the new Country Director of the World Bank, Mr. Ndiame Diop, and his team.
“They introduced themselves to the Forum and presented the Bank’s various programmes currently being implemented in the states, including HOPE (Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equality), Food and Nutrition Security, and SPIN (Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project).
“Members welcomed the new country director and his team, assured them of the governors’ continued support, and expressed their willingness to support the programme implementation across the country.”