Matilda Omonaiye/
The Federal Government has been urged to harken to the voice of the Nigerian Youths, reform the Police and transform the Nation, as well as invite the agitating youths to a roundtable talk, before the ongoing EndSARS protests get out of hand.
Those were the views of a community leader, the Okanlomo of Ijeun land, Chief Toyin Amuzu while reacting to the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in the country.
Amuzu who stated that the genuine concerns of the youth must be well looked into, said their demands to end police extortions, harassments, illegal arrests, detentions and wanton killings especially by the disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), was in order when done peacefully.
He said, “Though the SARS unit of the Police had been disbanded, there is the need for urgent general overhauling and reformation of the Nigerian Police, to put a permanent end to police brutality and misconduct, rather than the hurried Special Weapons and Tactics, SWAT unit, created by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.”
Amuzu said that the principal objective for establishing and funding various security agencies was to ensure the security of lives and properties of Nigerians and to defend the territorial integrity of the Nation, added, “It was wrong for any police officer, expected to protect the people, to shoot at any peaceful protester, who as citizens have rights to protest peacefully under the law”.
He, therefore, called on the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the incidences of no fewer than 10 peaceful protesters, who were allegedly shot dead or injured across the Nation, including Jimoh Isiaka who was shot dead in Ogbomoso, Oyo State and bring erring officers to book.
Chief Amuzu who stressed the need for President Muhammadu Buhari to improve Police welfare, training, terms of service and motivation that could create a better policing and start reworking Nigeria as a whole, warned political office holders to be up and doing in ensuring the Nation gets better, hence the youths would question them.
He said, “The youths have been ignored for too long, but now they have shown that they have a voice that must be given attention. The youths have demonstrated commitment and showed that they can rise up when the occasion warrants it and speak out while the whole country and the entire world would listen to them.”
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