The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has disclosed that the military may be called in if the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests escalate beyond control.
Egbetokun said this during a Zoom meeting attended by prominent human rights lawyers, including Femi Falana (SAN) and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), representatives from the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society organizations, and the Take-It-Back Movement.
The gist of the meeting, held on Tuesday afternoon, was obtaining he’d by PLATFORM TIMES.
Egbetokun emphasized that the decision to involve the military would only be made if the protests, scheduled for August, pose a significant threat to public safety.
“For those people who are threatening violence, most of them are faceless. Most of them remain faceless.
And for those of them that we have been able to trace, we have picked some of them up; they are already in our detention,” he stated.
The IGP further revealed that one individual had been arrested for inciting violence, including calls to bomb public places and burn down police stations.
The police chief’s comments reflect concerns over potential violence, drawing parallels to the 2020 #EndSARS protests, during which five police stations were burned in one day, prompting the Lagos State government to impose a curfew.
“The military will only come out when the situation gets out of hand,” Egbetokun clarified.
He added that the military’s involvement would be a last resort to prevent a recurrence of the chaos witnessed during the #EndSARS protests.
The IGP also proposed that the upcoming protests be confined to specific venues for security reasons, a suggestion that was met with resistance from the meeting attendees.
Egbetokun argued that a confined protest would help prevent the event from being hijacked by miscreants, cautioning that “it is not advisable to go on street processions because as you are planning peaceful protests, some are planning violence.”
However, this proposal was firmly rejected by concerned Nigerians, including the lawyers and civil society representatives present.
They argued that confining the protests would violate the constitutional right to assembly.
Adegboruwa, representing the Take It Back Movement, stated that while the designated venues would serve as meeting points, protestors would not be restricted to these locations during the planned 10-day demonstration.
… Court Restricts Protests in Lagos to Designated Parks
Meanwhile, a Lagos High Court has issued an interim injunction restricting a planned nationwide protest in Lagos to two specific locations: the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and the Peace Park in Ketu.
This decision follows an ex parte application filed by the Lagos State Attorney General, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Lawal Pedro, who argued for the need to prevent potential disruptions and safeguard public safety.
The court’s order, delivered by Justice Emmanuel Ogundare, specifically limits the protest to the two designated parks from August 1st to August 10th, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm.
The defendants named in the application include Adamma Ukpabi and Tosin Harsogba, representing the Active Citizens Group, Comrade Juwon Sanyaolu and Hassan Soweto of the Take it Back Movement, and others referred to as “persons unknown.” The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, is also listed.
In presenting the application, Pedro emphasized the importance of preventing a repeat of the violence and destruction that occurred during the EndSARS protests in 2020.
He noted that various groups had expressed intentions to either support or oppose the planned protest, raising concerns about the potential for unrest. Pedro stressed that the Lagos State Police lack the manpower to adequately secure all proposed protest sites, which include local government councils, public highways, and other public areas.
Pedro argued that allowing the protest to occur in these extensive locations would effectively paralyze the city, leading to significant economic disruption.
He highlighted the state’s obligation to balance the constitutional right to peaceful assembly with the need to protect public order and safety.
“In recognition of the citizens’ fundamental right to stage a public protest against government policies and actions but prevent unlawful destruction of lives and properties in the process, the Lagos State Government has designated two public spaces and locations in the State where citizens can meet and converge to protest or express their displeasure against government,” Pedro stated.
He warned that failing to restrict the protest could result in “economic sabotage” and put critical infrastructure at risk.
Justice Ogundare, after considering the arguments presented, granted all the reliefs sought by the Lagos State Attorney General. The court order is seen as a preventive measure aimed at ensuring the safety of both the protesters and the general public while allowing for the expression of dissent in a controlled environment.
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