The protest coming up on August 1, 2024, has been gathering reactions from various government parastatals, most of which are dissuading Nigerians from participating in the planned exercise due to fear of a violent outburst.
In line with this, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says it would not condone anarchy under the guise of a nationwide protest.
Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, August 25, the director of defence media operations, Edward Buba, said the “contemporary context” of the planned protest in Nigeria is to “shadow what is happening in Kenya,” which the military will not permit.
Although, Buba said citizens have the right to peaceful protests as enshrined in the constitution, he maintained that, they do not have the “rights to mobilise for anarchy and unleash terror”.
The defence spokesperson said the military has “detected” plans by some “unscrupulous elements” to hijack the protest and perpetrate.
“I will say that the contemporary context of this planned protest is to shadow what is happening in Kenya, and I will add that what is happening in Kenya in terms of protest, one, is violence, and two, it remains unresolved as we speak.
Already, we have detected some unscrupulous elements bent on hijacking the planned protest with the aim of making it violent. Many are therefore following in ignorance.”
In addition, Buba added that the level of violence “being envisaged” during the planned protest can only be described as a “state of anarchy.”.
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“The armed forces, on their part, would not stand by and allow anarchy to befall our nation. This is because we have seen and witnessed anarchy in countries where we have operated,” he said.
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