The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Department of State Services (DSS) have denied using live bullets on protesters and journalists during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
Spokespersons for both agencies, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi and Dr. Peter Afunanya, refuted these claims during a briefing in Abuja on Monday.
They mentioned that 30 individuals who displayed Russian flags and called on the Russian president to intervene in Nigeria have been arrested for treason. One of the flag suppliers was arrested in Kano.
Adejobi stated that there is no evidence of police using live bullets and mentioned that two AK-47s were recovered from protesters.
“I don’t have the information that police personnel have been firing live ammunition on protesters and journalists at the states and FCT. There were allegations that police personnel were firing at protesters in Kano, but I don’t have that report.
“However, we were able to recover two AK 47 from the protesters. So, if we have been recovering arms from them, if they bear arms, who knows who pulled the trigger? It is a difficult thing for us to stand here to say that the police or any other security agencies have been using live ammunition.
“What I know is that personnel of FCT command are not engaged in the use of live ammunition, may be the DSS will know those who are deployed, but to the best of my knowledge, the protests have been well managed by security agencies,” he said.
Afunanya assured that any allegations of live ammunition use would be investigated and urged the media to report accurately.
“The media should be careful the way they slant stories, some miscreants, not protesters this time, in Kano were vandalising private and public facilities and confronting security agencies, who tried to stop them from attacking members of the public.
“And the story in the media was that the military, police and DSS were attacking protesters. It is not proper. We need your support to have peace in our land. We will investigate the matter to know exactly what transpired but I can assure you that no DSS personnel will fire a shot at a journalist,” he said.
News Central reports that President Bola Tinubu met with security chiefs on Monday to review the situation in Nigeria following ongoing nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests which began on August 1.
The protests have led to violence, especially in northern cities, with reports of protesters hoisting the Russian flag.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, warned that displaying foreign flags is a treasonable offence and ruled out the possibility of a coup.
Despite this, clashes between soldiers and protesters occurred on the Abuja-Kaduna road, and in Kano, the state government plans to investigate the shooting of protesters.
President Tinubu’s recent national address, aimed at calming the situation, received mixed reactions. Labour Party candidate Peter Obi criticised the speech for not addressing key issues, while the Ohanaeze Ndigbo urged Tinubu to meet some of the protesters’ demands.