The hunger protests, which rocked the country, especially the northern part, from last Thursday, appears to have lost steam following the police crackdown on the organisers and protesters, many of whom had been detained.
Some of the #EndBadGovernance protest leaders have also gone underground and switched off their phones as the Department of State Services took custody of seven Polish nationals arrested for waving Russian flags during the demonstration in Kano on Tuesday.
DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, confirmed the arrests on Wednesday while explaining that the action was part of routine security enforcement rather than a targeted effort against Polish nationals.
The protest, which gained momentum in major cities such as Kano, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Niger, Kebbi, Abuja and other northern towns, were marked by escalating violence.
In some instances, security officials’ actions were the catalyst for the violence, while in other cases, it was driven by overzealous protesters or counter-protesters.
A few days ago, media reports and footage showed some #EndBadGovernance protesters carrying Russian flags.
In a national broadcast on Sunday, President Bola Tinubu pleaded with the organisers of the nationwide protest to suspend the action as it had gone violent in some states with the attendant loss of lives and destruction of property.
However, the protests scheduled nationwide between August 1 and 10, 2024, seem to have faltered as the demonstration was not held in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Borno and other states on Wednesday.
The development followed the arrest of 873 protesters by the police, and detention of 30 others for waving the Russian flag during the protest in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Bauchi states.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, had said the individuals waving the Russian flags committed treason and would therefore, be prosecuted.
The PUNCH reported that four political bigwigs, who hail from Katsina, Kaduna and Kano states, were being investigated for allegedly instigating the use of Russian flags by demonstrators in the north to orchestrate an unconstitutional regime change.
Confirming the probe of the seven Polish nationals, the DSS spokesman, Afunanya, explained that the action was in line with democratic principles and respect for human rights.
Afunanya addressed the Polish Ambassador to Nigeria during a briefing with the Diplomatic Corps in Abuja, on Wednesday.
“Seven persons were picked up from Kano because of where they were found during the protest and display of foreign flag in Kano two days ago.
“As a responsible security organisation, we owe it an obligation to do some verification and ascertain basic reasons and circumstances for some cases.
“They were picked by security enforcement because of where they were when the incident happened. It is not a targeted operation,” the spokesperson stated.
He also issued a plea for international cooperation in maintaining global stability, urging other nations not to allow their citizens to be used as instruments for undermining domestic peace in any country.
Afunanya added, “As the foremost domestic security organisation, we believe we have to work in sync with all of you who are men and county of goodwill.
“Our operations must be governed by democratic principles and protocol that emphasises freedom and human rights and of course intelligence and security governance. We obey all of these, whether we are dealing with Nigerians or foreigners.
“But we have a plea. In the course of discharging of our duty, we also see that some Nigerians definitely would want to use foreign lands as a launch pad to attack domestic peace and stability.
“We plead that you do not offer your country to some persons who may be deviant or have a terrorist inclination in today’s global pursuit; if anything happens in a country, it affects the others. Nigeria is a country with a large population and I believe that the support other countries will give will help us.”
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Economic Community of West African States have called for dialogue to address the tension from the hunger protests.
This is as the international community expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, emphasising their importance for Nigeria’s future prosperity.
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