"Show your faces" - FG orders protest organizers

Bello Matawalle, Nigeria's minister of state for defense, has issued a challenge to the people behind the August 1–10 countrywide demonstration to identify themselves.

He urged Nigerians to disregard the demonstrations, claiming they were orchestrated to incite bloodshed in the nation.
The Minister's remarks were made in a statement released by Henshaw Ogubike, the Ministry of Defense's Director of Information. In it, he urged Nigerians to maintain their composure and disregard the planned nationwide protest that is set for next week.

Matawalle was cited in the statement as saying: "It is unknown who is behind the protest, who is sponsoring it, and who is facilitating it. Who is the masked figure hiding behind the alleged demonstrators? We must be aware of this. The fact that they are unknown is peculiar and concerning."

He issued a warning, saying that anyone who commit crimes as a form of protest would face consequences from the law.

"Violence in the name of protest is criminal," he declared, adding that "protests are constitutional rights." Nigeria has explicit anti-crime laws, in accordance with international law. The legitimacy of prohibiting violent assembly and upholding the law in order to defend the rights of others, maintain national security, and promote public safety and order is made abundantly evident by both our laws and other international conventions.

"We have to exercise caution and make sure that people who wish to harm our peace and unity are prevented."