UPDATED: #EndBadGovernance: Tinubu addresses Nigerians, calls for end to protests

President Bola Tinubu has urged demonstrators to suspend their ongoing protests and embrace dialogue with the government.

Speaking for the first time since the nationwide protests began on Thursday, Mr Tinubu said the protests have turned violent in some states contrary to the promise by protest organisers.

“I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity,” he said in Sunday’s broadcast.

Thousands of Nigerians have taken to the streets since 1 August to demand economic and political reforms including the reversal of some government policies.

Policies such as the removal of petrol subsidies and the floating of the naira have led to Nigeria’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation as prices of goods and services more than doubled.

Mr Tinubu ruled out such policy reversal in his speech.

He stated that his government’s decision to remove petrol subsidies was necessary to reverse “decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well.”

He said fixing the country requires everyone’s help, regardless of age, political party, tribe, or religion.

The president also warned against bigoted speeches, noting that the law will catch up with those who threaten any section of the country.

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“There is no place for ethnic bigotry or such threats in the Nigeria we seek to build,” he added.

Mr Tinubu condemned the destruction of public facilities and looting of supermarkets and shops in some states, saying it was contrary to the protest organisers’ promise that the protest would be peaceful.

He said the destruction is a setback for the country as the scarce resources will be used to restore them.

He also commiserated with the families of Nigerians who lost their lives during the protest in the last three days.

“I am especially pained by the loss of lives in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and other states…,” he said.

“I commiserate with the families and relations of those who have died in the protests. We must stop further bloodshed, violence and destruction.”

Amnesty International has documented at least 13 deaths since the protests began, most allegedly caused by the police, facts the police dispute.

Protests

Organisers said the protests would last for 10 days, 1 to 10 August.

The protests began peacefully but have turned violent in many states leading to deaths and destruction of property.

In Abuja, the protests have been largely peaceful but for the violent disruption by the police and other security agencies.

The first two days of the protest in Abuja saw police firing tear gas at protesters when they left the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja and marched towards Eagle Square. The protesters remained defiant and returned the next day.

On Saturday, the police and personnel of the State Security Service (SSS) fired tear gas and live ammunition at both unarmed protesters and journalists at the MKO Abiola Stadium which the police said was the designated spot for the protests.