The Nigeria Police Force says its operatives only arrested riotous individuals who were engaged in criminality during the ongoing nationwide protest.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said this during the monthly news conference organized by The Strategic Communication Inter-agency Policy Committee, SCIPC, hosted by the Department of States Services, DSS, on Monday in Abuja.
Adejobi, who said there were differences between protests and riots, stressed that while there were peaceful protests in some states, there were riots and criminalities in others on the first day.
“So, arrests of certain individuals who have been riotous should not be seen as the arrest of protesters.
“Let us get it clear. Some states in Nigeria have been having peaceful protests and security agencies have been engaging them.
“I am sure and I know you are aware that some governors and public office holders have been engaging them.
“You can only engage in a gathering, an assembly that is friendly and accessible, where you have individuals wielding stones, offensive weapons, dangerous weapons, and all the likes.
“I don’t think a reasonable man will move close or be in the middle of such a gathering,” he said.
Adejobi said the police, military, and other security agencies engaged the protesters professionally across the country.
He said the protesters in Abuja had violated the court ruling that restricted them to the main bowl of the National Stadium.
According to him, some persons have deliberately and willfully violated the court ruling.
He said the presence of the police was not to harass or intimidate anybody but to protect the national assets, adding that the barricade at Eagle square was to protect the three-arms zone.
Adejobi also denied that the police and other security agencies attacked journalists who were covering the protests, adding that they only prevented people from gathering at unauthorized places.
He said the police had also apprehended some individuals for treasonable felony and for carrying the flags of a foreign country on the Nigerian soil.
We only arrested violent individuals during nationwide protest – Police