Planned Nationwide protest – DHQ warns

Chidimma Uchegbu – Abuja

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ)on Thursday advised Nigerians to shun the planned nationwide protest to avoid the country to be thrown into a state of anarchy.

The Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO )Major General Edward Buba gave the advice during the bi-weekly briefing on the ongoing military operations by the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) held in Abuja .

Maj-Gen Buba expressed fear that the planned protest might have been influenced by several factors which includes terrorist groups among others with ulterior motives to destabilize the country.

He therefore warned that the planned protest could plunge the nation into state anarchy as is being witnessed in Kenya which has been violent and unresolved to date.

“Pertaining to 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.

He added,”Given the situation, there are already indicators that, unscrupulous elements are bent on hijacking the planned protest for violent purposes.

“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 conditioner in their houses. Other targets includes; places of worship, businesses, markets, persons of other ethnic groups and members of opposing political party 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 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.

“On the whole, citizens are urged to note that, both the timing and the atmosphere of hardship in the country makes the planned protest different from others in the past. 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 government to further remedy the situation and make our nation flourish again.”

Meanwhile, the DDMO revealed that in the past week troops neutralized
106 and arrested 164 persons. He also said troops arrested 32 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 103 kidnapped hostages.

“During the week under review, troops neutralised 106 and arrested 164 persons. Troops also arrested 32 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 103 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Seven Hundred and Ninty Three Million Five Hundred and Thirty Six Thousand Naira (N793,536,000.00) only.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 125 assorted weapons and 1,522 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: 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.

“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 20 dugout pits, 24 boats and 34 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 56 cooking ovens, 2 speedboats, 14 pumping machines, 18 drums, 22 vehicles, 4 motorcycles and 36 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 802,200 litres of stolen crude oil, 121,900 litres of illegally refined AGO and 450 litres of DPK,”he said.