The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has urged FCT residents to obey the court order restricting protests at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
Wike made the call in Abuja on Thursday after the FCT Security Council meeting.
The meeting was to review developments following the commencement of a 10-day nationwide protest on Thursday.
He called on protesters to confine themselves to the stadium in accordance with the court order obtained on Wednesday.
He explained that an intelligence report revealed that some unidentified persons would be coming out on Friday to destroy properties in the guise of protest.
Such action, according to him, may lead to loss of lives, and warned that security agencies will not allow it.
“You are aware that there was a court order as of Wednesday.
“The court did not stop the protest, but the court said that the protest must be confined to a particular area, which is Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
“That security agencies should allow the protesters to converge at the stadium and talk to the world through the press.
“We believe, as a democratic society, while you want to carry out your protest, you should do it according to the rule of law.”
Wike expressed concern that the protesters tried to move to Eagle Square against the court order.
“We think that this country belongs to all of us; we think that we must work according to the rule of law, and working according to the rule of law is obeying court order,” he said.
He reiterated the plea to residents of Abuja to shun the protest in order to discourage miscreants from causing mayhem and destroying properties within the city.
Citing the incidents in Kano, Kaduna, and other states where the protests turned violent, the minister appealed to the protesters to give the government time to address their challenges.
The minister disclosed that an intelligence report revealed a senator was among the alleged sponsors of the ongoing nationwide protest.
He said that the senator had invited some security agencies to lead some of them to provide food to the protesters.
“At the appropriate time, security agencies will invite the Senator and find out how the lawmaker will be sponsoring this kind of protest against the government of the day,” he said.
He commended the residents of the territory who refused to join the protest to cause mayhem, assuring that the government was doing the best it could to resolve the challenges.
He also commended the media for the display of responsible journalism in their reportage of the protest and security agencies for not molesting any protesters. (NAN)
