•Protesters
Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has disclosed that some of the sponsors of the rioters who hijacked the planned peaceful protest against bad governance and hunger, flew out of the country on the eve of the protest before the police could apprehend them.
“Before the protest, we had intelligence that some agents of destalization were bent on using the protest to destabilize the country. “Some of them were already out of the country. Some of them moved out that very day the protest kicked off”, he said.
Egbetokun who described the alarm razed by the Nigeria Labour Congress when Police detectives raided a shop at Labour house as “noise”, stated that, “There was no need for the noise about the alleged raid on Labour House because we did not raid Labour House. They tracked a prime suspect we were looking for.
“We recovered sensitive documents that gave out the involvement of our suspect. He was using the shop or place of business as a front”.
Egbetokun who was speaking at the Nigerian Police Youth Summit held at the Police Resource Centre, Abuja insisted that Police was against protest from onset because a supposed peaceful protest tagged 10 days of rage is not meant to be peaceful.
“When you tagged the protest 10 days of rage, you know it is not going to be peaceful and you all saw it for yourself”.
Furthermore, he said, “If the organisers of the protest were sincere, following our warnings of hijacking it, they would have followed the guidelines or go ahead to meet with the Commissioner of Police of their state. It was for your personal safety.”
The IGP condemned those that were in the habit of calling on the Igbos to leave a state or zone or attacking them any time there is a protest saying, “It maybe true in few places but the generality of Nigerians, like in place have never done such a thing. we have lived together for years and bonded together. What I will advise is that where you have that type of issues, go and report to the nearest police or security authorities concerned”
Egbetokun pointed out that the purpose of the youth summit was to have a sincere engagement with Nigerian youths on challenges whether economic, security and others affecting the nation and preferring solutions.
Former Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, Professor Lanrewaju Fagboun who was the keynote speaker, disclosed that issues driving the youths of the country against the country’s leadership include economic challenges, trust gap between security agencies and the youths.
He urged leaders at various levels of governance to shun the attitude of flaunting affluence when the youths and many were wallowing in poverty and unemployment adding, “Traditional African society should know that the dynamics have changed.”
Professor Fagboun also pointed at the failure of the justice system in the country, and lack of consequences for these who commit crime.
“I am happy that President Tinubu has done a lot for the judiciary to help reposition the justice system but the judiciary themselves must do an introspection to cleanse itself.”
