The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested seven Polish nationals for allegedly raising the Russian flag during protests in Kano State.Spokesman of the secret police, Dr. Peter Afunanya, said they were being interrogated.
Also yesterday, the Federal Government warned against foreign interference in the cost of living protests in some parts of the country.It said “appropriate action” would be meted out to any “foreign entity residing in Nigeria” that directly or indirectly played a role in the demonstrations.
The government said it had launched an investigation into the violence that trailed the protests which began a week ago.The Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of six Spaniards for their alleged involvement in the protests.
Many demonstrators arrested in Kano and Kaduna states for brandishing the Russian flag during the protests are also currently being held by security agencies.Afunanya said:
“For the persons we have picked up from Kano because of where they were found during the protest and display of the foreign flag, that was two days ago.“As a responsible security organisation, we owe it an obligation to do some verification and ascertain basic reasons and circumstances for some cases.
“They were picked as a result of security enforcement because of where they were when the incident happened.“It is not a targeted operation on behalf of the DSS and Nigeria.
“But we have a plea, in the cause of the discharge of our duty we will also see that some Nigerians definitely would want to use foreign lands as a launch pad to attack domestic peace and stability.“We plead that you do not offer your country to some person who may be deviant or have a terrorist inclination.
“Nigeria is a country with a large population and I believe that the support other countries will give will help us.”He assured that the arrests were not a targeted attempt on Polish nationals.
Afunanya warned that the government would not spare anyone found guilty of funding the protests. He urged Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government.The DSS had earlier vowed to name sponsors of foreign-flag-flying protesters to promote insurrection in the country.
