The Nigerian military has said it will intervene if violence recorded in some states in the ongoing nationwide protest tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria escalates.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, during a press conference in Abuja, said the military would step in to control the looting and violence being witnessed in some parts of the country.
The protest started on Thursday with no fewer than 17 people feared killed as violence erupted in Abuja, Kano, Niger, Borno, Kaduna and Jigawa states. Businesses and banks were shut, while major roads have been deserted.
The protest continued Friday as the police and protesters clashed in different parts of the country.
The Chief of Defence Staff noted that while he was aware of the “grievances” of the protesters on the challenging economic difficulties in the country, they must show understanding.
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He appealed to Nigerians to be united during “these trying times” and cautioned against looting and vandalisation of property. The defence chief decried the destruction of valuables during the nationwide protests, describing it as “crazy.”
He stressed that the military and other security agencies “will not fold” their arms and “allow this country to be destroyed.”
“The Armed Forces and the entire security agencies will not stand by and see that to continue. We want to warn those that are recalcitrant; those that don’t want to listen that we will not fold our arms and allow this country to be destroyed.
“We will take action and the action we will take, we will take it professionally. Anyone that is caught will be taken to court and will be dealt with.
“There are a bunch of people who believe that it is only through this medium that they will be able to loot, steal and destroy. And that is what they tried to do yesterday but we have arrested most of them that broke into places to steal and will be prosecuted accordingly.
“We are also going behind to ensure that we also identify those that are involved; there are individuals who are sponsoring them, pushing them to do this, we are going after them,” he added.
