The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has said that the military and security agencies are after those behind the call for an undemocratic change of government in the wake of the #EndBadGovernance protests.
General Musa stated this on Tuesday during a combined news conference by the Defence Headquarters’ heads of security agencies and Service Chiefs.
He said the military knew that some protesters calling for regime change were sponsored and that the military and other security agencies were trailing them to bring them to justice.
He said: “We have had issues in the past few days, but you can see that people have seen reason for us not to continue with the destruction, to stop the looting, to stop giving opportunities for others to subvert our nation and to destroy our country.
“They have also seen reasons to join hands with the security forces to improve Nigeria.
“We want to assure them that we are fully committed to Nigeria; we love the country; we are mindful of the fact that we have been equipped and so we are duty-bound to protect the country.
“We are only after those that are against the state, not those that are innocent.
“For his part, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja said the army’s main operational commitment was to deploy resources to combat the protests that had turned into riots and ensure sustainable peace in the country.
Lagbaja said the army under his command was more concerned about bringing the country to sustainable peace and security.
He added that attention had not been diverted from its central operational commitment to combating terrorism and banditry.
On his part, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, said the navy had continued to work with other services and security agencies to ensure safety and security in the maritime domain.
For the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, the Nigerian Air Force remains committed to ensuring successful operations in all armed forces operational engagements.
Protest: FG Places Diaspora Sponsors On Watch List
The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (CG NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap, has said that Diaspora sponsors of #EndBadGovernance protesters are on a watch list and will be arrested when entering the country.
Nandap disclosed this at a meeting of heads of security agencies and Service Chiefs convened by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, at the Defence Headquarters.
She said, “We have Diaspora sponsors; they are on our watch list. We’ll be notified of any attempt to come into the country, and they will be picked up and handed to the appropriate authorities.”
Sponsors’ bank accounts blocked – Police
Inspector-general of Police (IGP) Egbetokun Kayode has said some accounts linked to suspected sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance protest have been blocked.
The police chief said that, contrary to reports, the Police did not deploy excessive force on the protesters, adding that the Police did not fire a single bullet at protesters.
He said, “The police and the military and, indeed, no other security agency involved in the management of this protest, have deployed excessive use of force; instead, what we had was an attack on security agents during the protest. From our record, there were no shooting incidents by the police. The police or military didn’t use any live ammunition in the management of these protests. Instead, we have had cases where our officers were injured and in critical condition as we speak.
“I will dismiss that as fake news and a very wrong allegation. We didn’t use excessive force at all. We didn’t even deploy all of our strength in this protest, even when it turned violent. We have water cannons we did not deploy, or rubber bullets we didn’t use. All that we have used is teargas and nothing more.”
On his part, the director-general of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, said the agency had uncovered some sponsors but declined to give further information.
The DSS boss, who was represented by the Service’s spokesman, Dr Peter Afunanya, said some sponsors are being tracked, and others being arrested.
