By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Abubakar Ahmed Audi, has disclosed that the Corps will deploy 30,000 personnel across Nigeria to protect critical national assets and infrastructure during the planned nationwide protest against hunger
Audi disclosed this during the opening session of his meeting with Commandants and Zonal Commandants of the Corps at the NSCDC national headquarters in Abuja on Monday, noting that the deployment was necessary as the Corps had gathered that criminals were already planning to hijack the protest and unleash mayhem on innocent Nigerians as well as national assets and critical infrastructures.
Nigerians, many of them young people, have called for demonstrations from August 1 over soaring costs.
Living costs spiked in Nigeria after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ended the fuel subsidy and eased foreign exchange controls after coming to power in May last year.
Inflation hit record levels at 34.19 per cent in June, with food inflation more than 40.87 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
While recognizing Nigerians’ right to protest, the NSCDC CG said it must be peaceful, warning that they don’t have the right to destroy any government’s property.
He assured that the Corps would protect peaceful protesters but also ready to arrest any troublemaker.
“Nigerians have the right to protest but tracing the history of protest in Nigeria, most have been hijacked by bad elements. Your duty is to make sure that the protest is peaceful”, he told the senior officers.
“We don’t want violence, we don’t want destruction, we don’t want killings, we don’t want……burning of properties. Do your job professionally and make sure you don’t molest any citizens.”
Audi who said the Corps was ready for the protest, said the meeting would be perfect strategies to deploy during the nationwide protest.
While appealing to Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu’s administration who he said was doing so much to improve the living conditions of Nigerians, the NSCDC CG called on parents to advise……their wards against the protest.