#EndSARS: FG Is The Reason Behind Violence During Protests – Inibehe Effiong

Rights activist and constitutional lawyer, Inibehe Effiong has come out to say that FG is to blame for the increasing violence during the #EndSARS protests across Nigeria.

He recently revealed that the use of primitive and unlawful means by the Federal and some State governments to address protesters against the brutality of SARS officials can never end well.

According to him, rather than tackling issues of poor governance raised by the agitators, it is sad to see how FG prefers to deploy extrajudicial means to discredit and scuttle the genuine agitations of aggrieved protesters.

He added that since the start of the nation-wide protests, about two dozen peaceful protesters have been murdered by security officers in a country that preaches democracy.

His words, “Recent attacks on police stations in Edo and Lagos states have been cited by governors of these states as a basis for imposing questionable curfews. One can reasonably infer that these attacks are ostensibly sponsored by persons who are sympathetic to the government, as part of an orchestrated plot to unleash the military on protesters to truncate the nationwide movement for police reform and good governance.”

“From the start of the nation-wide protests, about two dozen peaceful protesters have been murdered by security officers and murderous thugs actively aided and abetted by law enforcement agencies and state actors in different parts of the country.

“The social media is dominated by videos and photos showing armed thugs and riotous mobs unleashing mayhem, burning and destroying properties belonging to protesters and other Nigerians. These criminal actions are not happening in isolation. Generally, protesters have remained peaceful and law-abiding despite the provocations. Protesters have been working to restore law and sanity as part of their civic responsibility.

“We have seen protesters offering food and water to police officers. We have seen protesters clearing the streets of dirt. These same protesters have volunteered to control the flow of traffic in Lagos and other parts of the country.

“It is unacceptable that the police have not arrested the thugs and their sponsors who are committing murder, arson and other criminal activities. Rather, we have seen pictorial evidence of thugs being conveyed in police vehicles. This can only mean that the government and the thugs are in sync.

“It is therefore offensive, hypocritical and deceitful for a government that has been complicit in the attacks on peaceful protesters, to rely on acts of violence perpetrated by thugs and other criminal elements who are working to disrupt the protests for the benefit of the same government, as a justification for more state-sanctioned violence.”

“The military should stay away from protesters. The limited role of the Armed Forces under Section 218 of the 1999 constitution has been desecrated by the Buhari regime, in a shameful attempt to crush dissent and quell the patriotic voices of young people who are disenchanted by long years of police brutality, corruption and impunity,” he stressed, even as he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Inspector General of Police, Muhammadu Adamu.

“President Buhari should immediately address the nation, fire the Inspector General of Police, and along with the governors, urgently attend to all the demands of the protesters.”