Probe handling of #EndBadGovernance protest

The #EndBadGovernance protest ended on Saturday with a tale of woes from many Nigerians. The 10-day protest was called to register Nigerians’ displeasure with the rising cost of living amidst cash crunch being faced by millions of citizens. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an opportunity for hoodlums to ransack, steal and cause mayhem on private and government properties. Many innocent lives were lost while a number got injured in the process.

We are particularly alarmed at the turn of events when some protesters were seen carrying foreign flags and calling for a military intervention. This is unacceptable and we call for a thorough investigation of this affront on our nation.

The security agencies should also carry out a thorough investigation to fish out those behind the mayhem that caused deaths and destruction in many parts of the country. We expect those behind such unacceptable acts to face the full wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent to others. We should not allow a continuous repeat of what happened during the #EndSARS protest.

We believe that Nigerians must learn to always operate within the ambit of the law of the land. Although our Constitution provides for freedom to protest, that should be observed in accordance with the law.

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We at Daily Trust are also concerned about the management of the protest by our security agencies. We note that statements made by senior security officials and the subsequent actions during the protest further complicated issues and in many instances, and in unnecessary ways.

For example, after penultimate Monday’s meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, announced President Bola Tinubu’s order to defence and security chiefs to crackdown on protesters, especially sponsors and individuals flying Russian flags and coup mongers.

On August 1, when the protests began, the Director of Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General Edward Buba, appealed to protesters to give the president more time to address the hardships, telling journalists about fears it may violently mirror the Kenyan youth revolt against bad governance.

On day two of the protests, General Musa reiterated that “The federal government is doing the best it can for the country. The federal government is presently in place for only one year, and it is not possible for them to have to solve every financial, economic, security situation within one year. Please, Nigerians should look up to their local and state governments.”

He then told the media that: “I want to also appeal. I noticed throughout yesterday, all the stations were hooked up to the occasion. This is not an election thing. We don’t give them (protesters) that coverage for them to feel. Some of them are looking for just moments of being on the screen.”

In all these the CDS appeared to be the most prominent voice instead of the Inspector General of Police, the head of the lead agency for internal policing operations. And to showcase this, soldiers were robustly deployed, especially in key and vulnerable points.

Such deployments are worrisome as overexposure of the military in pure policing duties continues.

There was also unnecessary use of live ammunition against the protesters, which led to deaths and injury to many of them, including non protesters who were hit by stray bullets.

Human rights group, Amnesty International said about 17 deaths were recorded, blaming the police for the killings.

However, Muyiwa Adejobi, the Nigeria Police Force spokesman, while admitting instances of killings during the protest, exonerated the police.

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, also said security agents did not use excessive force on the protestors as only teargas was deployed to disperse unruly protesters.

However, the Army admitted that on August 6, 2024, a soldier who opened fire on a 16-year-old boy who died in Samaru, Zaria, has been placed under arrest and is facing interrogation.

We at Daily Trust worry that the military seems to have overextended itself in justifying its emerging role in citizens’ protests. We feel they must never be allowed to overwhelm and take over normal policing duties since the police have not declared themselves incapable. That itself is even unhealthy for the police and the country.

We therefore call on the defence and security agencies to not only fully account for every death, which arose from the protests, but also speedily investigate their management of the protests. Lessons should be learnt on the incident and efforts must be made to ensure that our security operatives follow the rules of engagement in such situations as obtained internationally.

We also appeal to the military to stop taking clear political positions and making partisan statements, which the minister of information and national orientation and any other presidential spokesperson could easily have handled.

We also hope that they will continue to view and treat the media as a partner, which has an important role to play as provided in Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution.