Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has called on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigeria Police to listen to the ongoing #EndSARS protesters in some parts of the country.
Saraki also warned of impending danger if #EndSARS protests are not responded to appropriately.
According to him, the nation is bearing witness to a well-organised and largely orderly youth protests, a clear manifestation of the frustration felt by the youthful citizens.
He added that Nigerians are voicing their response to the increasingly harrowing scenes of random and unjustified harassment, intimidation, detention and extrajudicial killings by SARS.
While maintaining that the current situation is too important and above individual vanities, Saraki called on eminent Nigerians to stand up and speak out on the issues affecting Nigerians collectively.
He, however, pointed out that #EndSarsNow, #EndPoliceBrutality is not one bit about politics adding that it’s about young people whose agitation and raised voices are demanding protection of their daily rights and liberties, to live, associate, and work, productively in peace.
The former Kwara State governor described as awful, the manner SARS arbitrarily pick up youths simply because of dress, hairdo, and others.
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He said, “There is a danger in the escalation of any protest movement, and #EndSARS is no different. Escalation happens when each hour that passes is an hour when we seem to have not listened to the protesters and taken their grievances seriously.”
He also pointed out that the initial response of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu to #EndSARS, in which he gave various directives about the squad can be read as an admission that many things are wrong.
Saraki, a former Kwara Governor noted that in analyzing the atrocities of SARS, it is clear that its history has been beleaguered by the institutional vandalism and emasculation of leadership in policing, the militarisation of policing for regime security and impunity of security services and neglecting long-standing reforms designed to improve public confidence.
Furthering on his stance, Saraki warned the leaders that it is a wrong stratagem to ignore the wishes of the people.
He paid tribute to the victims of Police excessive reaction to the #EndSARSProtest, including Jimoh Isiaka who was murdered in Ogbomoso, and protesters injured in different parts of the country.
