Kwara State Police Command in Ilorin on Wednesday banned any form of unlawful protest, rally, or gathering in the state.

The order, according to the spokesman of the command, Okasanmi Ajayi, ” becomes inevitable owing to an intelligence report indicating that hoodlums have perfected plans to hijack any rally or procession and use the process to cause chaos and jeopardize the current fragile peace in the country and by extension, Kwara state.”

The statement, affirming that the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Paul Odama, recognised the constitutional right of citizens to protest peacefully, explained: “A situation where such a protest or rally could be hijacked putting the lives and property of the people and government at risk would not be acceptable. [Hence] this is a temporary ban to evaluate and access the security situation in the state.”

The police spokesman also advised political party leaders to warn their supporters to desist from inciting and unguided statements capable of inflaming crisis and heating the polity on social media and in print and electronic media.

He said aggressive patrols of the state and raids on criminal hideouts would continue as the command would do everything legally possible to ensure the safety and security of the good people of Kwara State.