Following the violence that raged in the last one week of the countrywide protest, investigations are ongoing, to identify and bring to justice all those responsible, the federal government said on Wednesday.
Briefing members of the diplomatic community at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the development in Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammad Idris, stated that President Bola Tinubu did not become the president to cause hardship or make life difficult for Nigerians.
The government has however issued a strong warning that it would not give room to any form of foreign interference in the ongoing protests in the country.
President Tinubu has also reassured Nigerians that his government was already taking measures not just to address the pains, but also to close the gap caused by the removal of subsidy on fuel in the nation.
Between, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, said with the president working assiduously to revamp the ailing economy, the nation should expect positive results soon.
Breaking down the decision that led to the investigation of the protests, Idris was insistent that government believed it was not the time for such as rather focus should be on allowing its various initiatives and interventions to manifest fully, more so, as groups that issued the protests notice are faceless.
According to him, since government realised that a protest of this nature, that lacked coherent demands or an organisational structure could be hijacked by subversive elements.
He said, “Very sadly, that is what we have seen play out. Regrettably, what began as a peaceful protest in some states and the Federal Capital Territory, was soon hijacked by elements who infiltrated the protest and orchestrated violent activities that destroyed lives and properties.
“There were reports of arson, vandalism, looting, and clashes with law enforcement agents in several cities. Tragically, these incidents led to the loss of innocent lives and significant damage to properties.
“In response to these unforeseen events, the federal government acted swiftly to restore peace and order.”
The minister stressed that the security forces were instructed to exercise maximum restraint and adhere to international standards in managing civil protests, adding they put in the shift to ensure the safety of all law-abiding Nigerians, and to maintain order, in the last week and were also decisive in their response to criminality.
“I want to assure Your Excellencies that the federal government had launched an investigation into the violence that we have seen in the last one week, to identify and bring to justice all those responsible.
“We are committed to preventing the recurrence of such unfortunate incidents in the future,” he said.
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