The Defence Headquarters has, in strong terms, warned the public against the planned nationwide protests, stressing that such protests could degenerate into a similar violent protest witnessed recently in Kenya. The warning was given by Major General Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, while briefing the press in Abuja on Thursday. For Major General Buba, according to intelligence reports, the protest might be hijacked by some bad elements, which would result in massive violence and chaos.
The aim of the protest is to show you what is happening in Kenya. And I will add that what is happening in Kenya on the protest, one, is violence. Two, it remains unresolved as we speak now,” said Buba.
He expounded on the probability of the protests turning violent and called for vigilance. “There are plans by some unscrupulous elements to hijack this protest and make sure that it turns violent. When it turns violent, I want to tell you what we have seen as it would likely happen. Indeed, we need to count our blessings,” he cautioned.
Speaking to the gravity of the matter, Buba warned of a potential situation of anarchy. “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 we have witnessed anarchy in countries with which we have operated, particularly in times of ECOMOG and during our peacekeeping operations in various countries,” he explained.
He further appealed for citizens to reflect on the consequences of such upheaval by visiting IDP camps to see the result of conflicts. “Citizens can just go to any of the IDP camps around and see the effect of the war situation. They should allow peace to reign and not be beating drums for a war in the country.
They should allow the federal government to remedy the bad situation and put things in a proper way so that the nation can flourish again and not the other way round,” he implored. The warning from the Defence Headquarters is simply to caution and keep things peaceful ahead of the August 1st protest date. The Armed Forces have indicated that they stand ready to intervene to prevent such a descent into anarchy. Further updates on this developing situation are expected.
