The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced yesterday that the police have arrested some key sponsors of the rioters who hoisted foreign flags and called for a change of government in states such as Kano, Kaduna, and Zamfara.
During a joint media briefing at Defence Headquarters in Abuja, IGP Egbetokun revealed that both domestic and international funders of the violence and subversion have been tracked, their accounts blocked, and sources of funding halted.
The briefing was summoned by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, with participation from other security chiefs, including the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, who disclosed that the sponsors identified live abroad.
Service chiefs, including General Christopher Musa and Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja, warned that the military would not stand by and watch the country slide into anarchy.
As protests in Port Harcourt intensified, demonstrators marched to the private residence of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and blocked the East-West road and other major roads to traffic.
However, there was a decrease in tension in Kano and Kaduna, where curfews imposed by the state governments helped calm the situation.
IGP Egbetokun emphasized that the police have managed the crisis without using water cannons, live bullets, or rubber bullets, relying only on teargas.
He clarified that the reported shooting of an innocent protester in Kubwa, Abuja, was not by police operatives but by armed robbers or hoodlums.
“Since August 1, nobody has fired gunshots, and we didn’t use force on innocent protesters. We only provided security for them. Even amid the protest, we have arrested several armed robbers and criminal elements who stole and committed other offenses,” he said.
Kano State Commissioner of Police, CP Salman Garba, disclosed that his command arrested six Spanish nationals and 76 others, including a tailor sewing Russian flags.
“We have recovered 23 Russian flags and are trailing the sponsor. They have been transferred to Force Headquarters because it involves sedition and national security,” stated CP Garba.