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POCACOV cautions youths against violent protest

The Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), has charged Nigerian youths to embrace non-criminal assembly and shun violent protests to avert dire consequences.

The POCACOV National Coordinator, CSP Olabisi Okuwobi, gave the charge on Friday, August 2, following the acts that marred the peaceful protests organised by different groups tagged #EndBadGovernance.

The National Coordinator, who remarked on the looting, carnage, and destruction that came with Monday’s protests which were expected to be peaceful as promised, expressed concern about the involvement of mostly youths in the unfortunate incident.

CSP Okuwobi spoke on the devastating effects of the damages carried out on government and private properties, saying that they would be a drawback to the development of the nation and individuals.

The National Coordinator’s admonition tallied with that of the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, when, in his speech on Monday, he advised law-abiding citizens of Nigeria to heed warnings and not dismiss them, based on credible and actionable security intelligence.

The IGP spoke on the recorded incident of explosion which occurred in the crowd of protesters in Borno State, killing four people instantly while 34 others were severely injured, many of whom are currently on the danger list.

The IGP had added: “In places like FCT, Kaduna, Kano and Gombe, among others, we recorded incidents of unprovoked attacks on security personnel, where one policeman has been reported murdered and others seriously injured.”

The IGP had also disclosed that the police earlier alerted citizens that terror elements might take advantage of the protests to infiltrate the crowd of protesters with suicide bombers, which played out right on the first day of the protests.

CSP Okuwobi enumerated the negative effects of violent protests which included physical harm and injury to individuals, damage to property and infrastructure, disruption of essential services and daily living, economic losses and instability as well as strained relationships and polarisation within communities.

Others, but not exhaustive, are likelihood of sectionalism, tribalism, and religious bigotry, erosion of trust in institutions and authorities, and opportunity for extremists or criminal elements to exploit the situation to cause further unrest/pogrom, thereby jeopardising security.

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