The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has announced that it will not participate in the planned national hunger protest scheduled for August 1, 2024.
The church has warned its members and followers across the country to stay away from the protest, citing concerns over potential violence and volatility.
In a statement by Rev. Ibrahim Kassim, ECWA Public Relations Officer, in Jos, Plateau State capital, the church leadership expressed fears that the protest could be hijacked by miscreants, leading to damage and loss of life, as seen during the โ#ENDSARS PROTESTโ.
โECWA is aware that Protest is considered, worldwide, as one of the ways of expressing displeasure or objection to certain issues, policies or actions. It is also a medium through which people voice their concerns, create awareness or push for change. The Church is also aware of the severe economic hardship and the bedeviling insecurity that the citizens are experiencing, which are the cardinal issues being promulgated as the reasons for the protest.
โHowever, we are all aware that protests can take different dimensions as witnessed during the โEND SARS PROTESTโ when hoodlums infiltrated the protesters and wrecked serious havoc that led to the loss of many lives and properties. Therefore, considering the volatile nature of protests in Nigeria, which can be hijacked by miscreants and result in humongous damages, ECWA as a denomination wishes to inform the general public that we are not part of the planned protest, and we are calling on our members to disregard the action in totality, and not to participate in any way,โ he said.
The church added that they are exploring alternative measures to address the plight of citizens.
โThe Church wishes to assure members that ECWA leadership is doing everything possible in advising the government at the Local, State and Federal levels to take proactive measures in addressing the plight and suffering of citizens in the shortest possible time,โ the statement added.
The planned protest, scheduled to take place from August 1 to August 10, 2024, aims to draw attention to the severe economic hardship and insecurity in Nigeria.
Tagged #EndBadGovernace, organisers of the protest have lamented about widespread hunger and inflation in the country.
However, the Defence Headquarters has warned organizers that while protest is a right, anarchy will not be condoned.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said:
โWhile citizens have the right to peaceful protest, they do not have the right to mobilise for anarchy and unleash terror.
โI will say that the contemporary context of this planned protest is to shadow what is happening in Kenya and I will add that what is happening in Kenya in terms of protest, one, it is violence, two, it remains unresolved as we speak.
โThe level of violence being envisaged can only be described as a stage for anarchy. The Armed Forces on its part will not stand by and allow anarchy to befall our nation. This is because we have seen wars and have witnessed anarchy in countries with which we have operated, particularly in times of ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) and during our peacekeeping operations in various countries.โ