The Oyo Police Command has assured its residents that they will protect peaceful demonstrators in the planned August 1 protest.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Ayodele Sonubi, stated this while briefing the press after the force, along with other security agencies in the state, embarked on a joint show of force in Ibadan metropolis on Tuesday, ahead of the planned nationwide protest.
According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports, the security agencies comprised the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Nigerian Army.
Others were: National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Correctional Service (NCos), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and Amotekun Corps.
The show of force, which began at the Police Command headquarters, Eleyele, took the security personnel to Mokola roundabout, Oyo State Government Secretariat, Agodi-Gate, Iwo Road, Bodija, and Challenge, among others.
Speaking to the newsmen Sonubi said that the gathering was to create awareness to members of the public on the readiness of security personnel toward the planned protest.
Sonubi said that the exercise was also to ensure that the state remained peaceful, as it had always been, and to protect the lives and property of law abiding citizens before, during, and after the protest.
He said, “It is not your right to coerce others to join the protest.
“Nobody, including the security agencies, have the right to stop peaceful protest. Our right is to protect peaceful protesters and their property.
“But the moment it turns violent, we have the right to lead and bring orderliness,” he added.
