July 25, (THEWILL) – The Defence Headquarters has warned organisers of the planned protest against economic hardship in the country against any form of violence, saying the military will not stand by and allow anarchy to befall Nigeria.
Tagged #EndBadGovernance protest, the planned protest 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.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja, on Thursday, Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, while reiterating that citizens have a right to protest, however, said the military has uncovered plots by unscrupulous elements to hijack the protest and attack innocent Nigerians and their businesses.
“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,” he said, adding that “some people fantasise about war thinking that it is like seeing movies but can’t fathom the destructions that come with war”.
