Nigerian Top Soldier Supports August 1 Protest, Says Protesters Will Be Protected
A Nigerian soldier, who did not disclose his identity has called on Nigerians to come out en masse and peacefully protest against bad governance in the country, assuring that no military officer would dare to shoot at peaceful protesters.
The soldier who made the call and gave the assurance in a voice note making the rounds on social media said that ahead of the planned nationwide protest in August against bad governance in Nigeria, the military has an undisclosed plan to protect the protesting civilians and that any military officer who dares to fire at the protesters will explain where he or she is from.
The soldier lamented that they in the military are already tired of the bad government but they cannot come out and protest like civilians, stressing that civilians have the constitutional right and power to protest against bad government.
Assuring that soldiers will not shoot at protesters even if they are ordered to do so, the soldier said, “The security agents at where protesters are should protect them. The arms they are carrying are not to kill the protesters. All of us are tired.
“In this country now, civilians are even the ones that have a say. You civilians, you have the right to tell the government what you want but we in the military cannot do that. Anybody that is coming out to protest should come to protest peacefully.
“You don’t even know the plan we in the military have. Let us see any military man that will fire anybody who is just protesting against bad government. He will tell us where he is from.”
NNH had reported that Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, unveiled a list of 15 critical demands from Nigerians as part of the upcoming ‘Days of Rage’ protest.
The protest, tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, aims to address the country’s governance challenges.
According to Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), the demands were compiled from inputs received from Nigerians participating in the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria campaign.
The demands are directed at President Bola Tinubu’s administration and are considered non-negotiable by the protesters.
The ‘Days of Rage’ protests, scheduled for late July to August 2024, have been preceded by the demands published by Sowore on his X account.
Reacting to the message of the military source on Thursday, Sowore said, “A military mind reset, this military guy is pleading with #DaysOfRage protesters, saying they are “tired” and that they won’t carry out any order to shoot at protesters.”
