Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), says the police have “credible intelligence” that foreign mercenaries are involved in the planned nationwide protest.

Egbetokun spoke in Abuja on Friday at a press conference.

In the past few days, there have been reports of a youth-led planned nationwide protest over the economic hardship in the country.

The planned protest has been slated to commence on August 1.

The federal and state governments, including President Bola Tinubu, have appealed to the youths to shelve the planned protest.

Religious and traditional institutions have equally called for the cancellation of the planned demonstration.

The military and the Department of State Services (DSS) said there are indications that the protest would be hijacked to perpetuate violence.

Egbetokun cautioned that a peaceful protest in the country at the moment may be “ill-timed”.

“We note those who have spoken out against any form of protest at this critical juncture, fearing enemies of our country may be manipulating the process,” the IGP said.

“We confirm that their fears are genuine, as we have credible intelligence of foreign mercenaries’ involvement in this planned protest.

“The Nigeria Police urge Nigerians to exercise caution and think twice before joining any protest group while we alert citizens to the sinister motive of certain groups planning to wreak havoc.

“It has become clear that even a peaceful protest at this time may be ill-timed.

“We issue a strong warning to clandestine groups planning to destabilise the country and hoodlums seeking to exploit the protest for their criminal agenda.”

Egbetokun said the police acknowledged the constitutional right of Nigerians to peaceful assembly, adding that the police will provide security cover during the protest.

“To facilitate an incident-free protest, they (organisers of protest) should please provide the following information: one, proposed protest route and assembly point; two, expected duration of protest; three, names and contact details of protest leaders and organisers; four, measures to prevent hijacking by criminal elements, including key identifiers of possible isolation of potential troublemakers,” he said.

The IGP said the police are ready to work with all Nigerians to promote “peaceful expression and maintain public order”.

malali:
The Nigerian Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of protest under several provisions, primarily focusing on freedom of expression, assembly, and association. These rights are enshrined in Chapter IV of the Constitution, which deals with Fundamental Rights.

1. Freedom of Expression

• Section 39(1):
“Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”

This provision guarantees individuals the right to express their opinions and ideas freely, which is fundamental to the right to protest.

2. Freedom of Assembly and Association

• Section 40:
“Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular, he may form or belong to any political party, trade union, or any other association for the protection of his interests.”

This section affirms the right to peaceful assembly and association, which includes the right to organize and participate in protests and demonstrations.

Cc:
FCT minister Nyesom Wike
IG Police
Attorney General of the Federation
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
International court of Justice

AdesegunSanni89:
you Igbos think we are fools Abi? You claim not to participate in the protest but you yiibos are the main people promoting the protest online. Sha don’t destroy any property in south west else you shall all return in body bags to your pototopoto region.

AdesegunSanni89:
you Igbos think we are fools Abi? You claim not to participate in the protest but you yiibos are the main people promoting the protest online. Sha don’t destroy any property in south west else you shall all return in body bags to your pototopoto region.

skultrick:
Only jobless people will protest. In all my life I have never joined any protest in Nigeria. The reason is because we are not a nation. We are not one people. The igbo man has no business being in same country with the yoruba man. Likewise, the yoruba man has no business being in the same country with the hausa man. The worse of it all is the igbo sharing same country with a fulani man.

I mean we are people of different ideologies.

Look at Europe, every tiny ethnic group have their country.

No protest can genuinely work I'm Nigeria.

BTW, the yeye northerners did protest during buhari tenure, it is tinubu tenure they want to protest.

Even the yeye endsars where many died for nothing they didn't protest. Instead they were looting people's business.

If this rubbish protest ever holds, many businesses will cry because all these hungry thieves will use that as an opportunity to steal people's hard earned money, of which the Igbo man will suffer the biggest casualty.

I urge every igbo man to arm themselves with cutlass and guns if possible.

To all the yeye obedients urging igbo people to join the protest, respect yourself and have Sense for once.

Any igbo man that joins this the northerners to protest is the BIGGEST F**L ON EARTH.

The northerners obviously want to destroy tinubus government. They hate to be out of power.

Again, I repeat, any stu**pid Igbo man leaving in the east or anywhere that joins this protest is an id**ot.

The fact is that no amount of protest will change the current reality Nigeria is facing. What we are facing now is the after effect of too many corruption, nepotism and every other rubbish.

From August, just like during endsars, I will Watch and read from my phone as zombi**es get killed.

Finesse247:
You people think politicians are scared of southern youths protest No no . They are fleeing Nigeria cos there is an intelligence report that elements from Niger have been imported to turn the protest to a revolution. The north seems involved and only north can lead a dangerous protest that can shake government in Nigeria

Artscollection:
Go n arrest them and stop bitching around!!
Those are the people ronu crew should be more concerned about and not the innocent people that have excluded themselves from the upcoming madness cum hunger protest.

dragunov:


They will be killed. They can do the shaking o, but they will be killed.

Blazetrailer:
In fact, my prayer is that the government make that
huge mistake of killing the northern youths.....May God lead them to do that blunder....I pray so fevertly

helinues:
Eagles eyes on all of them .

Any gathering of more than 10 people, dispersed them or arrest them.

The missing senses must be located by force