The Presidency has said that those who contributed to the recent #EndSARS movement turning violent must face the law.
This was disclosed by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday when he appeared on Channels Television’s programme, Sunday Politics.
The Central Bank of Nigeria froze the account of 20 #EndSARS promoters while it was reported that another campaigner, Modupe Odele was stopped from embarking on travel by government officials.
Reacting to questions on the development, Shehu said the protesters must face the law.
“This country has only one president and has only one constitution. President Muhammadu Buhari is responsible for his government. The buck stops on his table.
“We are a country governed by law. There is a constitution —under section 33— that clearly defines the rights of citizens to freely protest in a peaceful way but where a peaceful protest turns into riot, violence and looting, there is a law and order duty to be performed.
“Everyone witnessed the massive looting of public and private properties particularly in Lagos, Calabar, Plateau, Taraba and some other states, even the FCT, Shehu said.
He added that while he was not particular about the role of specific individuals, the instrument of the law must be deployed to melt out punishment where necessary.
He said, “Now, the laws of the country must be allowed to decide, to rule on wrongdoing on the part of anybody.
“I am not particular about any celebrity or promoter but this country has been harmed enormously and people should be prepared to account for what they did.”