The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle has called on Nigerians to remain calm and ignore the planned national protest scheduled for August 1 to 10.
While asking Nigerians to ignore the protests which he suggested was being planned to cause violence in the country, he challenged the organisers to reveal themselves.
The Minister’s comment was contained in a statement by the Director of Information, Ministry of Defence, Henshaw Ogubike on Friday.
The statement quoted Matawalle as saying:
“The persons behind the protest, the sponsors and their facilitators are unknown. Who is the masquerade behind the so-called protesters? We need to know. This is strange and ominous that they are unknown”.
The minister said, “Let it also be clear that while our laws and international law allow peaceful protest, assembly and association; it does not legitimise violence and destruction. And no democracy will allow its citizens to be threatened by either internal or external aggression.
He warned that the law would be applied against those who perpetrate crimes in the name of protest.
He said: “Protests are constitutional rights; violence in the name of protest is a crime. There are clear provisions against crime in Nigeria as they are under international law. Both our laws and other international conventions are clear on the legality of restricting violent assembly and enforcing the law to protect the rights of others, to ensure national security, and to guarantee public safety and public order.
“We must be vigilant and not allow those with malicious intentions to disrupt our peace and unity.”
Adding, he said: “Those moving to unleash the Kenyan episode on Nigeria should look back and examine the consequences for Kenya. That experience should have no place in Nigeria because it will set us back instead of moving forward,”
