The presidency on Tuesday attacked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his comment warning security agencies against using lethal force against looters and arsonists during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, responded to Atiku in a statement shared via his X account on Tuesday evening.
Mr Onanuga called Atiku's comment absurd.
He said that as a statesman, Atiku's warning should be directed at the looting mob in Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and Jigawa states who hijacked what organisers billed as a peaceful protest.
He said security forces had remained professional, impartial and had observed all restraint in the face of extreme provocation by rioters.
“We are surprised that Alhaji Atiku continues to rely on Article 40 of our (amended) constitution to justify a protest that is now clearly a riot, a riot in some parts of the country.
“Article 45 of the Constitution states that the right to assembly and the right to freedom of expression are not absolute.
Article page with promotion of financial support
“They can be curtailed and limited in the interest of public peace, public safety, law and order,” the presidential aide said.
He said the service chiefs reiterated the rights of Nigerians to protest and assemble freely.
“However, today they reinforced their constitutional duty when they said they cannot stand by and watch thugs destroy the country and its democracy.
“The service chiefs and officers and soldiers of our security teams should be commended for their patriotic duty to our country.
“As a supporter and facilitator of the destructive 'protests', Alhaji Atiku certainly wants the sinister protest to continue despite the red signs on the streets,” Onanuga said.
He said a tweet that condoned the destruction of private and public property and citizens' investments was unbecoming of a former vice president.
He said Atiku should have gone beyond the sentiment he expressed and put the stability of the country ahead of any advantage he hoped to gain from the insurrection on the streets.
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“We encourage Alhaji Atiku to follow the example of opposition figures in the UK, who have joined the government in condemning the ongoing unrest in the UK.
“They called for the arrest and prosecution of those behind the wanton destruction of public and private property.
“We expect from Alhaji Atiku a nationalist temperament like that displayed by opposition figures like Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister,” Mr Onanuga said.