#EndBadGovernance protest: Nigeria Army will not watch while the nation burns, CDS warns

General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, has warned that the Armed Forces and security agencies will not fold their arms and watch as the nation burns, and he has called on groups protesting against hardship in the nation to stop anything or actions that could cause mayhem and destruction.

“Let us steer clear of anything that will cause chaos in our communities,” he said. The extent of the devastation that was done simply on Thursday is evident. You can therefore envisage how this would develop over time.

The initial sightings of the event were of a relatively calm protest, but a group of unscrupulous criminals soon took control of it.

“And if you remember, we had warned that there were individuals that were ready to cause mayhem once this starts. And so I want to appeal to Nigerians to understand that the federal government is doing the best it can for the country.

“The armed forces and the entire security agencies will not stand by and allow that to continue. We want to warn those that are in the house (sitting at home), those that don’t want to listen. We will not fold our hands and see our country destroyed.

“We will take action and the action will be taken professionally. Anyone that is caught will be taken to the courts to be dealt with.

Continuing, Gen Musa said, “The government has actually shown its own commitment by upholding its promise of allowing people to associate freely, Clearly, the security forces have done extremely well and I’m very happy to mention that the Nigerian police force especially have shown a lot of professionalism, including where members of the armed forces had to step in.

“You can see that we have remained very professional in our conduct and we will continue to do that, as long as the citizens also understand that there is a difference between peace and criminality.

“I’ve seen policies that have been made to address the economic situation on the ground, including security situation. Things are improving.

“If we have the support of everyone together, we can bring total peace and the economy will grow. Just a few days ago, I was in the Niger Delta to also ensure that our production increases immediately so that we can have enough funds to fund our economy. So I want to call on all Nigerians to understand the government.

“If you have grievances, which I know people have, there are a lot of challenges here. And it’s not only in Nigeria alone. Everywhere in the world is facing one economic or security crisis or the other.