The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi believes the recent waves of #EndSARS protests in Nigeria will equally be beneficial to officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
“To the men and women of the Nigerian police force,” he tweeted on Monday via his official handle, “be assured that this movement is also for you, we know you are humans also and your reality is as a result of your environment.”
While condemning reports of brutality and abuse by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Oba Adeyeye hailed Nigerian youths for agitating for an end to the ugly incidents.
He expressed joy over the #EndSARS protests and concluded that “Finally, the youths are awake, with one voice and a common goal.”
Although he described the recent waves of protests across the country as “the beginning of greater things to come in Nigeria,” the Oba pleaded with the protesters to carry out their agitations in a peaceful manner.
The revered monarch also shared an experience his daughter had with SARS officials.
He said his 25-year-old daughter almost lost her life when she was stopped on her way to the airport, “terribly ransacked and surrounded by fully armed plainclothes policemen in a bus, detained for close to 30mins of thorough questioning.
“Imagine a young female for that matter, all her belongings completely searched all because she was with a laptop on an official assignment from her office in Lagos. I can only imagine the countless ones that have lost their lives from such ordeals, may their souls rest in peace.”
The #EndSARS protests, calling for the scrapping of the force subunit have continued to gain traction in the country, despite the dissolution of the tactical unit by Nigeria’s Police chief, Mohammed Adamu.
November 22, 2024
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