There will be bloodshed if soldiers get involved in the #EndBadGovernance protests scheduled to begin on August 1, a protester who survived a gunshot wound on the chest during the 2020 #EndSARS protests has said.
While Nigerians intending to participate in the protests have tagged it as peaceful, the Armed Forces of Nigeria has warned that it will intervene in the protests to curb violence.
Many Nigerians have frowned against this, fearing the military’s intervention will instigate violence and there would be a replay of the Lekki tollgate massacre during the 2020 #EndSARS protests.
While addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, had said the protests would likely degenerate into anarchy and shadow the Kenyan protests.
READ ALSO: ‘We’re Victims Too’ — Lagos Corps Members React to Warning Against Joining Protest
“Given the situation, there are already indicators that unscrupulous elements are bent on hijacking the planned protest for violent purposes,’’ said Buba.
“It is for this reason the armed forces will not watch and allow the nation to spiral out of control to such low levels.
“Basically, the military has been exposed to wars and has witnessed situations of anarchy in countries ravaged by war, particularly during ECOMOG or during peacekeeping operations. For this reason, troops will act dutifully to forestall such ugly occurrences from happening in our nation.”
AN EXAMPLE FROM RECENT MEMORY
The last time Nigerian soldiers intervened in peaceful protests, there was bloodshed.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Niger, Abuja Begin Protests 3 days Ahead of Schedule
On the night of October 20, 2020, soldiers shot live rounds of ammunition into a crowd of peaceful protesters at the Lekki tollgate who were pleading with the government to disband SARS, a police unit infamous for extrajudicial killings and harassing youths.
An investigation by FIJ tracked at least 20 deaths during the tollgate shooting, although the Nigerian government kept denying this, or that there was any death at all.
Ifeanyi Matthew Agbeze, one of the protesters who was shot in the chest on the night of the Lekki massacre but survived, told FIJ that he had no plans of participating in the #EndHardship protests because of how the #EndSARS protest played out.
READ ALSO: PORTRAITS OF BLOOD (II): Names, Photos, Videos… How Lekki #EndSARS Protesters Were Massacred
Ifeanyi Matthew Agbeze at the EndSARS Protest in 2020.
“I don’t plan to join the upcoming protests because of how EndSARS played out. It seemed as if those who were killed by the soldiers that night died for nothing. I am just lucky to be alive,” Agbeze told FIJ.
Asked what he thought about the military’s plan to intervene in the upcoming protests, he urged the military should stay out of the protests.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: ECOWAS Court Finds Nigeria Guilty of Rights Abuse at Lekki Tollgate
‘WHY CAN’T THE ARMY JUST LEAVE PROTEST TO THE POLICE?’
Agbeze receiving medical treatment after being shot in the chest at the Lekki Tollgate.
“I don’t know why the military can’t just leave the protests for the police to manage; soldiers are trained to kill in order to calm a protest,” he said.
“If they say they are going to get involved again, this means we should be expecting killings. They will set the country on fire if they do that because Nigerians are livid. I do not want to be caught in the crossfire.”
Another participant of the EndSARS protests who identified himself as Abdul shared the same sentiment.
‘PEOPLE JUST WANT CHANGE’
According to Abdul, the military should not intervene in peaceful protests, as they are only required during wars.
“The president has the authority to deploy soldiers to war as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in the event of war. But for peaceful protests? Come on!” he exclaimed.
“The people are just saying they don’t like how the government treats them and how expensive things have become. They just want the government to make changes.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Police Arrest #EndSARS Survivor Recalling How He Could Have Been Killed
“I don’t know why the military is involved in issues like that. They should be sanctioned if they are involved in such a thing. Why do they have to be on protest grounds? Why should they even be there in the first place.”
He added that security forces are deployed to protests to ensure peace and not cause violence in saner climes.
Since Nigerians planned to protest against the hardship that has plagued their realities in August, officials of the Nigerian government have been utilising tools in their arsenal to thwart Nigerians from protesting.
Counter-protests have been held in some states of the, while videos of rice distribution to Nigerians have been spotted on social media. Corps members were twice warned against joining protests, with soldiers deployed to the Keffi-Abuja expressway over the weekend for stop-and-search operations on vehicles entering the nation’s capital, three days before the planned protests.
ThePunch also reported on Monday that soldiers and other security operatives had commenced a massive nationwide deployment of soldiers and police personnel ahead of the August 1 protests.
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