Nigeria’s President Muhammadu is expected to give a national address on Thursday, 48 hours after the violent suppression of peaceful protesters at Lekki Tollgate, on Tuesday.
According to the Presidency, the National address at 7 p.m. is coming on the heels of a security briefing by the country’s security chiefs on the current situation in the country, earlier on Thursday..
In an earlier address to correspondents after the security meeting in the State House, Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser, said President Buhari would take a major action in a few hours.
“Mr. President has directed that the government should do whatever is necessary in order to bring about an agreeable resolution to this crisis.
“So far, the government has been able to concede to the demands of the protesters. The initial demands have been considered and it appears now that the riots are taking a different and unwanted dimension.
“And Mr. President is very concerned about this development and does not want a situation in which everything breaks down and results in anarchy, in lawlessness and people taking the law into their own hands.
“For one thing, if the government can begin to make concessions, then it’s also logical for the protesters, those that are aggrieved also to take a step back, take stock of their activities and come to a meeting point with the government and its agencies.
“It is not Mr. President’s desire to see any unwanted loss of lives and he is determined to ensure that things do not cascade into unpleasant situations.
“Therefore, he has directed all the security agencies to operate within the confines of legitimacy, the confines of legality, not to do anything that will aggravate the situation.
“The president himself, I have just left his office, is also going to deal with these issues in a specific manner apart from what has just taken place in council. I believe in the next couple of hours Mr. President will come up with certain solutions that will be agreeable to the entire federation.
“Again, I have spoken with my colleagues in security, to also understand that these situations also require non-kinetic efforts which we are also working on, to appease those who are aggrieved and there is no need to take this thing further.
“But it is extremely important for the youths to understand that, if the atmosphere is not conducive for dialogue and understanding, we can’t have any peaceful resolution.
“The security agencies have been asked to apply as much restraint as possible. But then again, the youths should also understand that pushing their luck might also result in unwanted issues.
“So, it is very very important for everyone to take stock of what has already happened and not give a dark impression of this country to the international community,” he added.
Asked what the resolution is, the NSA said, “Mr. President is going to look at each issue on its merit before coming up with the solution as the chief security officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Amnesty International in a statement on Wednesday, October 21, said the Nigerian Army and police killed at least 12 peaceful protesters on Tuesday, October 20, in Lekki and Alausa, where thousands were protesting police brutality as part of the #EndSars movement.
Across the country, curfew was declared in several states and security incidents spiked.
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