Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Friday, warned that the police will never allow violent protests in the country, stressing that the force would combat any group attempting to cause a breakdown of law and order.
Adamu, who stressed that although the constitution guaranteed peaceful protests, said many of the masterminds of the violence that rocked the #EndSARS protests had been arrested, including inmates who escaped from Edo prisons.
The IGP while responding to questions during a meeting with command commissioners of police in Abuja, disclosed that many of the fleeing inmates had equally been arrested in Kano and Kaduna while committing more crimes.
Adamu said, “We will never allow this type of #EndSARS protests again, it was violent. Peaceful protest is allowed in our constitution. When these rallies started peacefully, we provided security for them.
“We were moving with them to make sure they were not molested by any group of people and it was going on well until it turned violent.
“When it turned violent, they then attacked the people that were even giving them protection. So, we shall never allow any violent protest in this country again. When you talk of peaceful protests, yes, it is allowed but violent protests, never.”
The IGP, therefore, urged well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on groups said to be planning another round of protests to shelve the idea.
He explained that his men were working hard to apprehend other inmates still on the run, as well as cultists terrorising the neighbourhoods.
Adamu said, “We have made a lot of arrests of those people that escaped from prisons. Some were even arrested in Kano and Kaduna. When they escaped, some of them went back to their business of robbery.
“And the cultists, when they escaped, they went back to the business of cultism, especially in Edo. We’ve been able to arrest a significant number of them and we are still after those that are outside. We call on Nigerians, any information you have about an escapee from any of the correctional centres, please inform us or any other security agencies, so that we can get them back to prison.”