The Nigeria Police have arrested more than 30 #Endbadgovernance protesters for waving Russian flags in northern states of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Bauchi.
The spokesperson of the Nigeria Police, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said 873 other protesters had been arrested by the police, including a tailor, identified as Ahmed Bello, who was arrested with a large number of flags in Kano.
According to local media reports on Tuesday, the arrest was in response to the directive by President Bola Tinubu to security agencies to crack down on those flying Russian flags in the country.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff. General Christopher Musa, told journalists on Monday after the National Security Council meeting on the current security situation in the country in Abuja that there were individuals willing to take advantage of the protests to cause mayhem.
“And we can see clearly what has happened since it commenced. Criminals have taken over, with a lot of looting, stealing, and all sorts happening,” he said.
He said the situation became worrisome as foreign flags were flown within Nigeria’s sovereignty, and that was totally unacceptable.
“We are warning in clear terms, and the President has also said we should convey this: We will not accept anybody, any individual flying any foreign flag in Nigeria.
“That is a treasonable offence, and it will be viewed and treated as such. So, nobody should allow himself to be used by any individual,” he said.
“We’re following up with those who are sponsoring them. Some people are pushing them because the flags were also made. We have identified those behind it, and we are going to take serious action against them.
“The President is clear in his instructions that we do not accept anyone who wants to disrupt the peace and tranquility of Nigeria,” he said.
He said all security agencies were ready to defend democracy and the nation’s sovereignty.
“We will not accept anyone taking any action, for whatever reason, to want to push for any change of government.
“Democracy is what we stand for; democracy is what we will continue to defend,” he said, adding that he had earlier warned that the military would step in if the protests got out of hand.
“You can see that some subversive elements are pushing individuals to carry Russian flags in Nigeria; that is crossing the red line, and we will not accept that,” he added.
Meanwhile, the protests appear to be losing steam and the states, especially in the north of the country that imposed 24-hour curfew to check looting by some of the protesters have started reviewing them to between 6 hours and 12 hours.
GIK/APA