The Presidency has knocked former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for cautioning the security agencies against using lethal force on looters, arsonists who it said masqueraded as protesters.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga who made this known in a statement on Tuesday said the ex-Vice President’s tweet is absurd coming from a statesman.
Atiku Abubakar had earlier tweeted while cautioning the service chiefs and military commanders of Nigeria’s armed forces that those who authorise the use of lethal force against peaceful civilian protesters will be held responsible.
Atiku added that such chiefs or commanders will held responsible for committing crimes against humanity, even in the years following their retirement from service, proving that the constitutional right to engage in protest is firmly established within the supreme law and reinforced by the judiciary.
The former Vice President said, “It is the solemn duty of the government and security agencies to ensure a safe and protected environment for individuals exercising their right to peaceful protest”.
In his response, the Special Adviser to the President, Onanuga said as a statesman, Atiku’s warning ought to have been issued to the looting mob in Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Jigawa states, who hijacked what was advertised by organisers as a peaceful protest.
“We are surprised that Alhaji Atiku is still relying on Section 40 of our constitution (as amended) to justify a protest that is now clearly a riot, a rampage in some parts of the country. Section 45 of the constitution says the right of assembly and freedom of expression are not absolute rights.
“They can be abridged and fettered in the interest of public peace, safety, law, and order. The Service Chiefs reiterated the rights of Nigerians to protest, gather freely. They, however, reinforced their constitutional duty today when they said they can not sit by idly and watch hoodlums destroy the country and its democracy”.
The Presidency said Service Chiefs, officers, and men of the security outfits should be commended for their patriotic duty to the country, saying as a supporter and enabler of the destructive ‘protests,’ Alhaji Atiku wants the sinister protests to continue despite the street’s red signals.
“Alhaji Atiku ought to have risen above the sentiment he expressed and put the interest of our country’s stability ahead of whatever advantages he hoped to reap from the insurrection on our streets”, he said.
The Presidency encouraged the former President to adopt a more nationalistic approach that transcends personal interests and focuses on the greater good of the nation.
“Alhaji Atiku should take a cue from opposition figures in the United Kingdom who have rallied behind the government to condemn the ongoing riots in the country, calling for the arrest and prosecution of those behind the wanton destruction of public and private assets.
“Such a nationalistic temperament, as displayed by opposition figures such as Rishi Sunak, the immediate past Prime Minister of the UK, is expected of Alhaji Atiku. If Alhaji Atiku had followed this approach, he would have given hope for a united front against the destructive protests”.
Meanwhile, as reported by ChannelTV stated that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said the police, military and other security agencies did not use excessive force on the protesters.
While speaking at a meeting of security agencies heads on Tuesday in Abuja, the Police Boss said there were attacks on security operatives deployed to manage the protests.
According to him, “The police and the military, indeed no other security agency involved in the management of this protest deployed excessive use of force. Instead, what we had were attacks on security agents during the protest.
“From our record, there were no shooting incidents by the police. The police or military didn’t use live ammunition in management of these protests. Instead, we have had cases where our officers were injured and are in critical condition as we speak.
“I will dismiss that as fake news and very wrong allegations. We didn’t use excessive force at all. We didn’t even deploy the whole of our strength in this protest even when it turned violent.
“We have water cannons we did not deploy, we have rubber bullets, we didn’t use. All that we’ve used of this protest is teargas and nothing more”, Egbetokun said.
The protests advertised by organisers to be peaceful, which is projected against the high cost of living among other issues, recorded violence, looting and display of foreign flag in some part of Nigeria despite the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu address to the nation while calling for dialogue.