With two more days to go in the 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest, in Nigeria, the protest appears to have lost steam following the police crackdown on the organisers and protesters, many of whom had been detained.
Some of the #EndBadGovernance protest leaders have also gone underground and switched off their phones as the Department of State Services (DSS) took custody of seven Polish nationals arrested for waving Russian flags during the demonstration in Kano on Tuesday.
The report by Punch newspaper on Thursday said that the DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, confirmed the arrests on Wednesday of the Polish nationals while explaining that the action was part of routine security enforcement rather than a targeted effort against Polish nationals.
According to the report, the protest, which gained momentum in major cities such as Kano, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Niger, Kebbi, Abuja and other northern towns, were marked by escalating violence.
In some instances, security officials’ actions were the catalyst for the violence, while in other cases, it was driven by overzealous protesters or counter-protesters.
There was also the issue of some #EndBadGovernance protesters carrying Russian flags, which the security officials condemned and threatened to arrest and prosecute such protesters.
Meanwhile, it is gathered that 873 protesters had been arrested by the police, while 30 protesters were detained for waving the Russian flag during the protest in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Bauchi states in northern Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, had warned that the individuals waving the Russian flags committed treason and would therefore, be prosecuted.
GIK/APA