Police Brutality: Why we won’t back down until we #EndSARS ─Conveners

*Don’t give them another excuse to shoot us down. Like I said earlier, we are not here for politics. We are here because we are tired. Enough is enough, say conveners

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Declaring that they are tired, and would not give the security operatives another opportunity to shoot at them any longer, the #EndSARS protesters in Lagos State have vowed not to back down until the Nigerian Government addresses their demand to end police brutality and intimidation allegedly carried out by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The protesters stated this Friday during a protest held at the State House of Assembly in Alausa area of Ikeja, the state capital.

Debo Adebayo, one of the conveners and popular comedian in the country while addressing the young protesters, declared that the youths were tired of the threatening activities of the SARS, report said.

Adebayo stated: “We are not backing down; we can never back down. Look at everybody here, now I cannot even count the number of people that are here,” he said.

“It is because we are tired. When we came here, we didn’t have five per cent of this number the last time we came here for a protest.

“This is to say that the youths are waking up. While you are waking up, don’t give them another opportunity to shoot us down.

“Don’t give them another excuse to shoot us down. Like I said earlier, we are not here for politics. We are here because we are tired. Enough is enough.”

The convener urged the protesters to assemble next Tuesday again, in the same environment in Lagos by 9 a.m.

African time wouldn’t be allowed, said he.
Rinu Oduala, another protest convener, while urging the authorities that SARS should be scrapped, said the lawmakers met with their delegates within the floor of the House (Lagos House of Assembly, Ikeja).

When asked about the outcome, Oduala told reporters that the House members agreed with them that SARS should be scrapped in the country.

She said: “We had an emergency situation with the House. About 20 of us were sitting with the Honourables in the House.

“We gave them our petition which was given to Obasa (the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly) … and we made our stand clear.

“The Honourables were asked to rule their motions on the matter. Most of them agreed in our favour that SARS should be scrapped.”

However, the lawmakers agreed to give them a feedback Monday, adding that their three-day protest had ended, the convener disclosed.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force was established to tackle robbery and crimes related to armed robbery within the country, but the unit has for quite a while been overreaching in its operations across the nation, Channels TV report noted.

Without any legislation or order, the unit has morphed itself into some form of anti-graft agency, harassing many young Nigerians, especially men who spot dreadlocks and other forms of fancy head styles.

The report stated that what would have been associated with culture and the arts, seemed to have been labelled a criminal act by SARS officials, one which operatives of the unit on routine patrols have reportedly tackled either by extorting various individuals, or killing them in the name of attempting to arrest them for crimes that never get disclosed nor tried.

Encounters between men of the SARS unit and the civilian populace have ended in infringements of rights and a show of lawlessness on the part of those who swore to uphold the law and protect the citizens.
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