The Ekiti State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has warned residents, especially youth, against joining the nationwide protest scheduled for October 1.
Naijaonpoint reports that the organizers of the #FearlessOctober1 protest aimed to address the hardships faced by Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the devaluation of the naira.
The group had earlier declared that the police, Department of State Services, and military would not deter them from carrying out their planned demonstration on Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day, this week’s Tuesday.
However, the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Adeniran Akinwale, has warned that the protest could be hijacked by hoodlums.
Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, Akinwale stressed that breaking the law should never be the way to achieve justice, and he encouraged the youth to adopt peaceful methods and conversations instead.
“We are enjoining the people to ensure they don’t go out to protest so that hoodlums will not hijack it which will not be to anyone’s benefit. We are definitely going to reach out at the same time and ensure peace and tranquillity in Ekiti State.
“We have been doing it, we have been having discussions with the important stakeholders and we will continue to reach out to those people that are relevant and to also talk to the youth as usual to ensure they don’t take law into their hands.
“With the present economic situation internationally and nationally, everybody has to make sacrifices and to understand so as not to use illegality to pursue legality, adding that it was unnecessary for anybody to toe a path that would be against peacem,” PUNCH quoted the CP saying.