The Force Headquarters on Thursday said N9 billion was raised by sponsors of the August #EndBadGovernance protests to cause chaos in Nigeria.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, made this known during the Civil Space Guard Conference organized by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, held in Abuja.
The conference was organised in collaboration with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Adejobi noted that prior to the protests, the police had warned that foreign mercenaries might hijack the demonstrations to create havoc, but regretted that many Nigerians chose not to believe the warning.
“We always receive intelligence. I made a statement on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) that foreign elements would intervene.
“But due to a trust deficit, people often think we are not truthful when we make certain claims.
“While some were genuinely trying to protest and express their grievances to the government, others attempted to exploit the situation for financial gain.
“They indeed raised funds — we are talking of about N9 billion.
“I’m sure you were not aware that someone received that money.
“From that protest alone, N9 billion was generated, and the funds were actually distributed to incite chaos in Nigeria.”
