The Nigeria Police Force has issued a warning against bank attacks, describing them as armed robbery.
This warning comes on the heels of attacks on bank facilities in various parts of the country in the aftermath of the naira crisis.
However, Force spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi has warned against such action, saying it will be met with resistance.
“We complain banks don’t attend to us yet we go to their facilities and set them ablaze, destroy ATMs. How do you want them to serve you better if you have destroyed their facilities?” he said in a recorded video posted on the NPF’s Facebook page Friday.
“I think we need to educate ourselves on what the law says about this. You don’t go to any bank, ATM, or financial institution to attack. It is criminal and tantamount to armed robbery. If you are caught in the act, you will be treated as an armed robber.”
“Even the ATM, as small as that machine is, has certain protections from the security agencies, particularly the police. it is an infrastructure that you don’t attack. If you do that, it is presumed that it is actually going there to rob,” Adejobi warned.
He also warned against attacks on police officers, appealing to Nigerians to desist from such as the Force want to use the “minimum force” on people.
The spokesman called on Nigerians to be civil in their protests while citing the recent events in Edo, Delta, Ogun, and some parts of Lagos State.
“A protest must be coordinated. We can be civil and do it better,” he said, claiming that some of the protests have been hijacked.
“And these guys that come out are not interested in demanding their monies or requesting anything from the government. It is just to loot shops. You can see the clips showing that these guys are there to foment troubles. They have their targets,” he added