The FCT Police Command has intensified security measures ahead of a planned nationwide protest by announcing the deployment of 4,200 police officers to ensure public safety and prevent potential violence.
Police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
The planned protest labeled #EndBadGovernance is expected to take place across Nigeria with the aim to address economic hardship.
The upcoming protest has gained a lot of both negative and positive traction on social media with both supporters and critics weighing in.
Even President Bola Tinubu has appealed to the protesters to shelve their plans, promising to address their grievances while the opposition party Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has backed the protest, criticizing the government’s attempt to suppress it.
However, in the statement, the FCT Police Command, said in anticipation of the planned nationwide protest by some human rights activists and Nigerian youths it has proactively deployed material and human resources at the command’s disposal across the nooks and crannies of the nation’s capital.
The command noted that the proactive deployment is aimed at ensuring public safety, protection of protesters, and preventing protests from being hijacked by non-state actors.
The police deployment includes visibility policing, explosive ordinance devices (EOD) experts,and personnel at various strategic locations, raids on identified black spots, uncompleted buildings/shanties, stop and search, vehicular and foot patrol and synergy with sister security agencies.
It, however, urged residents to be vigilant and report suspicious activities through the police emergency lines: 08032003913, 08028940883, 08061581938, 07057337653 PCB: 09022222352, CRU: 08107314192
The command also warned that it will not be “stampeded into allowing the destruction of public and private properties or loss of lives.”
