The Nigerian military on Friday said it may intervene in controlling the looting crisis and identify its sponsors in the ongoing nationwide hunger protest, tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, said this during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
Musa said, “We are supporting the police all through. We are just on standby. The police are 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.”
The CDS noted that while he was aware of the “grievances” of the protesters regarding the challenging economic difficulties in the country, he urged them to show some understanding to the federal government.
Musa appealed to Nigerians to unite during these trying times and cautioned against the vandalization of property and looting.
“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, and monies have to be used to replace them so that we can move forward.
“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.
The CDS lamented the high rate of destruction as it happened on Thursday, August 1, 2024; the first of the 10-day-long hunger protest, labeling it as “crazy.”
He stressed that the military and other security agencies “will not fold” their arms and “allow this country to be destroyed.”
Musa said, “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.”
He warned that the military will be professional in its conduct and ensure the prosecution of anyone caught looting and/or stealing, saying, “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
“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.
“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.”