By Gambo Jagindi
August 18, 2020
CSO tells #EndSARS protesters to end protests or risk backlash
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisation (CSO) for Good Governance has appeal to #EndSARS protesters to end the protest now that the ovation is at its loudest.
The group made the appeal during a press conference in Abuja on Sunday
Comrade Olayemi Success, Chief Convener of the coalition, said that the appeal is in response to the continued EndSARS protest in Nigeria despite the fact that the five point demands had been accepted and approved by the federal government
He said that indicators show that the protest has been hijacked by vested interests hence the latest violent trend resulting to loss of manhour due to deliberate road blocks by the protesters
The Convener said that the protesters may loss credibility and acceptability of well meaning Nigerians if the protest persisted and therefore reminded them to understand that their right to protest ended where others’ right to enjoy peaceful atmosphere, devoid of road blocks, commences.
The group also appealed for urgent resolution of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) issues with the Federal Government so that students could go back to school
They emphasised that idle minds were devil’s workshop, and regretted that 70% of the protesters are students and being used by vested interests for their selfish purposes.
The Convener commended the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies for their professional conduct in managing the protest.
Comrade Success appealed to Nigerians to continuously give the much needed support and cooperation to the Nigeria Police Force to enable the force attain its mandate of securing lives and properties
He emphasized that the security agencies deserved the support and appreciation of the citizens as they had discharged their responsibilities creditably.
Aluta News reports that the protesters had taken to the streets to press government to, among other demands, disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force.
They also demanded for reforms of the police force.
The Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Adamu, had since disbanded the force, with President Muhammadu Buhari saying that more reforms were on the way toward a better police force.
The protestors have, however, continued the protests in spite of the response, forcing many Nigerians to suspect that they were nursing a secret deadly agenda.
when it started, the major demands were
1. Immediate release of all protesters
2.Justice for all decease victims of police brutality and compensation
3. Setting up of independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all report of police misconduct
4. Psychological evaluation and retraining of all disbanded SARS officers before redeployment
5.Increase police salary so that the can be adequately compensated for protecting lives and properties of citizens
The Federal government had approved the five demands and directed state government to set up panel of enquiries towards addressing them