The military issued a warning on Friday to looters exploiting the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests, urging them to cease the destruction of lives and properties.
During a press conference in Abuja on the second day of the protests against economic hardship and the high cost of living, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, described the level of destruction on the first day of the demonstrations as “crazy.”
He emphasized that the Armed Forces would take action to prevent further looting and destruction.
General Musa noted that the Bola Tinubu administration has been in power for one year and is making efforts to improve economic conditions. He also stated that the economic crisis and high cost of living in Nigeria are part of a global phenomenon and urged Nigerians to give the government time to address these challenges.
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He said, “So, we want to call on all Nigerians to understand the government. If you have grievances, which I know people have, a lot of challenges here and there, and it is not only in Nigeria alone; everywhere in the world is facing one economic or security crisis or the other. And so, it is important to understand that we are not alone.
“But what we can do is not allow criminals and individuals that have lost out to take advantage of this to destroy our country. We should realise that these destructions, monies have to be used to replace them so that we can move forward.”
The defence chief stated that the message from peaceful protesters has already reached the federal, state, and local governments.
He urged peaceful protesters not to allow troublemakers and fifth columnists to incite violence and chaos in the nation.
“We know we are challenged as a nation but we know we will overcome working together as Nigerians… Let us avoid anything that will bring mayhem to our country,” he said.
General Musa described the level of destruction witnessed in some areas on Thursday as unimaginable and emphasized that the military will not stand by idly.
“Yesterday (Thursday), we saw the level of destruction that has been carried out. Just yesterday. So you can imagine if this continues for so long.
“Yesterday, we saw some people breaking down houses, stealing windows and doors. It was just crazy yesterday and we don’t want that to happen again.
“The Armed Forces and the entire security agencies will not stand by and see that to continue. We want to warn those that are recalcitrant; those that don’t want to listen that we will not fold our arms and allow this country to be destroyed.
“We will take action and the action we will take, we will take it professionally. Anyone that is caught will be taken to court and will be dealt with,” he said.
“There are a bunch of people who believe that it is only through this medium that they will be able to loot, steal and destroy. And that is what they tried to do yesterday but we have arrested most of them that broke into places to steal and they will be prosecuted accordingly,” he added.
The defence chief stated that security forces rose to the occasion on Thursday, effectively containing the situation.
General Musa commended the police for their efforts in managing the situation but affirmed that the military is prepared to step in if circumstances worsen.
“We are supporting the police all through. We are just on standby. The police is doing a good job; they are handling the situation for now. Unless it breaches beyond what they can handle then the military will step in. The military is on standby and we are watching day and night,” he said.
He added that those responsible for sponsoring the looting will be identified and dealt with accordingly.
“We are also going behind to ensure that we also identify those that are involved; there are individuals who are sponsoring them, pushing them to do this, we are going after them,” he said.
