Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun has ordered a large-scale deployment of police officers across Nigeria in response to reports of a potential nationwide protest by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC.
The protests are reportedly in reaction to the ongoing deadlock between the Labour Congress and the Federal Government over a new minimum wage agreement.
In a statement released on Tuesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the IGP emphasized that the deployment is intended to maintain public order and prevent any breakdown of law and order.
The strategic deployment aims to protect key infrastructures and ensure that any protests remain peaceful and lawful.
“The Inspector General of Police has instructed all Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police and State Command Commissioners of Police to collaborate with other security agencies to uphold these directives nationwide,” the statement read.
IGP Egbetokun underscored that while peaceful protests are a democratic right, the police will not tolerate any acts of violence or the destruction of lives and property.
“No decent society anywhere in the world would accept the violent destruction of lives and properties under the guise of protests,” he stated.
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“Those who want to stage a peaceful protest are advised to inform the police and request for police protection. Those who do otherwise should be ready to face the full weight of the law. Members of the public are again reminded that it is a criminal offence to tamper with the national grid or prevent/ disrupt the transmission of electricity. It is equally unacceptable to cause disruption to any other Critical Infrastructure such as airports, hospitals and other essential services, or violent picketing in whatever magnitude.
“The Nigeria Police Force, being a civil and responsive institution, committed to maintaining law and order and ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, therefore warns that any attempt to disrupt critical infrastructure, which could lead to an act of economic sabotage, treasonable felony, and jeopardize national security and public safety, will not be condoned during any protest action but will be met with the full force of the law.”
Police equally appealed to parents and guardians to warn their wards not to be used by disgruntled and misguided individuals who are mobilizing for violent protest with the intent to create anarchy.
