The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has said that the protests by the #BringBackOurGirls coalition constitute a security threat to public peace and order.

The Chibok girls’ campaigners, he said, must understand that in the exercise of their rights, they must not trample on other peoples’ rights through “over-dramatisation of emotions, self-serving propaganda and disrespect of public (office) holders.”

Idris said this on Wednesday when the National President of the National Council of Women Societies, Gloria Shoda, and other executives members visited him at the Force headquarters, Abuja.


 
The IG sympathised with the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, noting that the government had invested huge resources to ensure that they were rescued and re-united with their families.

He said, “However, the activities of the BringBackOurGirls group in Abuja, the nation’s capital recently, is becoming worrisome and a threat to public peace and order.

“The #BringBackOurGirls protagonists must understand that in the exercise of their rights, they must not trample on other peoples’ rights through over-dramatisation of emotions, self-serving propaganda and disrespect of public (office) holders.

“The police will not sit on the fence and watch such a scenario unfold. The rights of law-abiding citizens must be protected within the context of the law. Enough is enough. We however ask that they tread with caution and that their grievances be channeled within the ambit of the law.”

But the BBOG in its reaction, denied being unruly or constituting a public nuisance during its street protests.

Its spokesman, Abdulahi Abubakar, said the BBOG had the constitutional right to protest, stressing that the coalition would continue to press home its demand for the release of the girls through various legitimate means, including street protests.

Speaking earlier, the NCWS President, commended the police for maintaining security in the Federal Capital Territory in spite of the protests by the BBOG.