1 month ago
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BY ANDREW OROLUA
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar in their separate addresses on Tuesday urged officers and men not heed call by subversive elements.
They said they “will defend the country democracy and the government with the last drop in our blood” adding that they have rejig their operations to track down bad elements.
The Service Chiefs restated their commitment to crack down subversive elements at a joint press conference held along with heads of all the security agencies in the country at Defence Headquarters Abuja.
Besides the Service Chiefs other heads of security agencies who spoke are the Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi who was represented by Dr.Peter Afunanya the Spokesperson of DSS, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi; Commandant General for NSCDC, Ahmed Audi as well as the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap.
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The Inspector General Police Kayode Egbetokun said that many subversive elements have been arrested by the police in Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi and Gombe states where subversive elements pretending to be on hunger Protest on Monday flew Russian flags calling for a change of government.
According to him some of the sponsors of #EndbadgovernanceinNigeria protest have clear motive to subvert the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
We have identified those involved and blocked their bank accounts including the accounts of those sponsoring the protest from outside the country.
He explained that the law enforcement agencies apprehended those who flew foreign flags and their producers to facilitate the arrest of their sponsors because it is not enough in court of law to establish intention, the act itself must be proved to secure conviction.
Egbetokun said already, the police has taken some criminal elements arrested during the protest to court.
He denied that police used life bullets to quell the protest. He said the police deployed only wooden battens and smokes adding that policemen who bear rifles were never used. They were stationed far behind at the rear, he said.
He also denied allegations by protesters that they were barricaded on the second day from using the stadium in Abuja in line with court. He said the police was at the stadium to provide security for protesters .
The IGP also explained the circumstances surrounding a viral video of Police Armoured vehicle stationed at the gate of Government House in Kaduna that was crowded by protesters.He said the Vehicle was not hijacked. He said as the driver was about to move the Armoured vehicle stationed at gate to Government House protesters climbed on it .
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa who conveyed the jointed press briefing reiterated the point he made on Monday that the protest had been hijacked by subversive elements warning that the military and other security agencies will defend the country democracy and will not engage in coup.
He said the unprecedented press briefing show their collective resolved and commitment in support of President Tinubu administration.
“We are going to respect human rights but those criminals and subversive elements must be brought to book.
All the head of security agencies however were unanimous in their views on the rights of Nigerians to protest. They all also agreed that the protest have been hijacked and that it should be stopped.
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