Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has constituted a Panel of Enquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS.
This followed his meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).
In an address on Thursday, Sanwo-Olu said it’s time of sober reflection in Lagos and the country.
“It has taken a powerful youth led action to drive reform and hopefully begin the process that truly delivers a citizen friendly police”, he said.
The 7-man panel will ensure that all those with verifiable cases of SARS brutality or fatality receive compensation.
The Panel will be chaired by retired Justice Doris Okuwobi.
Members are Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN (representing the Civil Society), Taiwo Lakanu (a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police), Patience Udoh (representing the Civil Society); Segun Awosanya aka Segalink (Human Rights Activist).
Others are Olutoyin Odusanya (Director, Citizens Mediation Center), a rep/member of the youth-led protest and a representative of the Human Rights Commission.
There will be a help desk for the complaints and petitions to the panel.
From next week, Lagosians will be able to reach the panel directly on 0901 051 3203; 3204 and 3205.
The governor said there were express instructions to the Police to cooperate with protesters and in situations where arrests are unavoidable, there must be full transparency and upholding of their legal rights.
He confirmed that by order of the IGP, all SARS personnel have been recalled to force headquarters.
They will receive psychological examinations and a full review of their records.
“If you find any SARS members or units still in operation in Lagos, please bring them to my notice. To avoid a rise in crime or kidnapping, a new unit will begin training next week that will not have any SARS member”, Sanwo-Olu said.
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has pleaded with the people to allow the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad, F-SARS, do their work in places where they are effective.
Fayemi, who is also the Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, said this on Channels Television’s Politics Today, on Thursday.
The Governor, who backed the ongoing youths’ protest against police brutality across the country, noted that “in areas where F-SARS has been efficient and effective we should really allow them to continue to do the work”.
Fayemi insisted that there was nothing wrong with the protest and the call for police to be reformed, adding that young people should be encouraged to ask more questions.
According to the NGF Chairman, it is important Nigeria engages and gets to the bottom of all that is being agitated about at the moment.
Fayemi assured Nigerians that those who have been found culpable of human rights abuses in the F-SARS unit will be brought to book.
The Federal Government has agreed to release N30bn earned academic allowance to the university lecturers.
The money will be paid in tranches between May 2021 and February 2022.
Our correspondent gathered that the FG also promised to spend N20bn on the revitalisation of the education sector as part of concessions meant to end the seven-month strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
These were part of the agreements reached during the ongoing meeting between the FG and ASUU leadership on Thursday.
Strike encouraging students’ recruitment into #EndSARS protests – Ngige
Speaking earlier before going into a closed-door session, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said students were being recruited into the #EndSARS protests following the closure of universities occasioned by the ASUU strike.
He expressed the hope that ASUU would call off the strike soon, noting that the government had been finding ways to end the seven-month strike.
The government team was led by Ngige, his minister of state, Festus Keyamo (SAN), and others, while the ASUU delegation was led by its President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi.
Ngige said, “For the past one week, we have all been on our toes; we have been meeting and we pray that this meeting will yield some good fruits.
The Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has sacked his security aide, James Nwafor.
Nwafor, who was a Senior Special Adviser to the governor on security, was relieved of his duty following allegations by #EndSARS protesters in Awka on Thursday.
They alleged that Nwafor violated people’s rights during his reign as the Commander of SARS in Anambra.
The protesters accused Nwafor of killing many youths in the state during his tenure in SARS.
The protesters had blocked the Anambra State Government House and the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, insisting that Obiano must address them.
Addressing the protesters, Obiano said he would take their demands to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and handle the ones within his powers.
He said, “I am very happy with the way you have conducted yourselves. You have conducted yourselves creditably.
“I have a list of all your demands. Some of them have already been met, like the SARS being disbanded. That has already been met, and some are still in the pipeline which I am going to present to the president. The other ones, I can handle myself.
“Your first request is immediate prosecution and removal of James Nwafor, the immediate release of all protesters in police custody. Consider those ones done.
“As for compensation of family of SARS victims, the Attorney General and the leadership of police will look into this and make recommendations to me.
“I support your protest, police brutality and extortion are not allowed anywhere. Any police officer that does that, copy his name and let us know.”
The protesters who were visibly happy about the governor’s pronouncements marched to the popular Aroma Junction, where they blocked the Expressway.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, James Eze, confirmed the sacking of Nwafor.
He confirmed to a reporter, “Nwafor has been relieved of his duty. It’s up to the IGP who has been vigorously pursuing reforms in the Police Force to decide how to prosecute him.
“I don’t think the power to prosecute lies with the governor. He doesn’t have the power. Though he gave the assurances to prosecute him.”
Award-winning singer, David Adeleke aka Davido, has lambasted the Federal Capital Territory Administration for imposing a ban on #EndSARS protests in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
It had earlier been reported that the FCT Security Committee on Thursday attributed its decision to the alleged violation of COVID-19 protocol by the protesters.
The Committee said it was concerned that despite the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, last Sunday, the demonstrations had continued, causing inconveniences to law-abiding citizens.
The decision to proscribe all forms of protests in the nation’s capital was taken at a meeting chaired by the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the COVID-19 guidelines regulating public gatherings recommend physical distancing, temperature checks, the use of facial coverings, amongst others.
“Clearly, all these guidelines were flouted by the protesters. Consequently, the committee directs that due to the dangers posed by COVID-19, all street demonstrations, protests and processions will not be allowed anywhere within the FCT,” it resolved.
However, the singer, who is one of the leading voices of the #EndSARS campaign and who had read the protesters’ demands to the IGP in his Abuja office earlier in the week, faulted the decision of the FCTA.
He noted that the Federal Government allowed electioneering and rallies to hold in Ondo and Edo States where cases of violation of COVID-19 protocol were recorded but was against protests in the same country.
Davido made this known on Twitter shortly after the announcement by the FCTA.
He wrote, “Can’t protest but y’all just had campaign rallies and conducted 2 elections recently !!! Do they think ?? Wtf I’m ANGRY !!”
See tweet;
Can’t protest but y’all just had campaign rallies and conducted 2 elections recently !!! Do they think ?? Wtf I’m ANGRY !!
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigned on Thursday, saying he wanted to bring an end to the crisis sparked by disputed parliamentary elections earlier this month and avoid any further bloodshed.
Protests had erupted after the October 4 election was won by parties loyal to Jeenbekov, with opponents disputing the results, alleging vote-buying. The vote was later annulled but this did not quell the tensions.
“I am not clinging to power. I do not want to go down in the history of Kyrgyzstan as a president who allowed bloodshed and shooting on its people. I have taken the decision to resign,” Jeenbekov said in a statement released by his office.
More than 1,200 people were injured and one killed during the post-election clashes between protesters and police.
During the unrest, protesters met little resistance as they sprang prominent figures from jail, including populist figurehead Sadyr Japarov.
Former President Almazbek Atambayev — a former Jeenbekov ally turned sworn enemy — was also released, but was later returned to prison. Two of his closest allies remain at large.
Japarov had been serving jail time for hostage-taking but was named prime minister soon after his release.
In a growing power struggle, Japarov’s supporters had gathered once more Thursday to demand Jeenbekov’s immediate resignation.
“The current situation is close to a two-sided conflict. On the one hand, the protesters, on the other, the law enforcement agencies,” Jeenbekov said in the statement.
“Military personnel and law enforcement agencies are obliged to use weapons to protect the residence of the head of state. In this case, blood will be shed. It is inevitable. I urge both sides not to succumb to provocations.”
‘Return To Peaceful Life’
The President had on Wednesday finally affirmed Japarov as prime minister, in a move seen as the first step towards calming the crisis.
Jeenbekov had previously pledged to resign after overseeing fresh parliamentary elections in the country. But Japarov insisted that the president should step down without delay.
Jeenbekov called on Japarov and other politicians “to withdraw their supporters from the capital of the country so the people of Bishkek (can) return to a peaceful life” as he resigned on Thursday.
The election of a new parliamentary speaker had appeared to bolster Jeenbekov’s position.
Kanat Isayev, whose party has been supportive of Jeenbekov, called on the president to stay in office on Thursday. Isayev should now become acting president according to the constitution.
But his position was also uncertain on Thursday as a group of hundreds of Japarov supporters gathered at a disused hotel a few hundred metres (yards) from the presidential residence and called for him to step down along with Jeenbekov, an AFP correspondent saw.
Japarov’s supporters have called for the populist to become president since the crisis began. The prime minister becomes acting president in the event that parliament is without a speaker.
His emergence as a key player in the chaos that followed the protest against vote results was seen as driving factor behind a rally against organised crime led by civic groups last Friday.
Japarov has denied links to organised crime and said that his arrest on hostage-taking charges in 2017 was the result of a “political order”.
The charges dated back to a rally in support of the nationalisation of a key gold mine in the Central Asian country in 2013.
Kyrgyzstan has been dogged by political volatility for much of the three decades since it became independent of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The landlocked republic of 6.5 million people has seen three presidents unseated by unrest since then.
The chaos has worried its ally Russia, coming as post-election protests rock ex-Soviet Belarus and clashes persist over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak flew in for talks with Jeenbekov and Japarov this week, with Moscow emphasising that the chaos must be brought to an end.
Coincidentally, with Jeenbekov’s resignation, all five of the country’s post-independence presidents have left office at the same age — 61.
A Spokesman for the Chairman of the National Union of the Road Transport Workers in Lagos State has denied reports that his principal, Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo, was sponsoring violent attacks against the #EndSARS protesters.
MC Oluomo’s Spokesman, Jimoh Buhari, said this during a chat with a reporter on Thursday.
He said, “We have no hand in the attacks. People should stop accusing us wrongly. Were the thugs wearing NURTW uniforms? Is MC Oluomo holding a political office? He has no hand in the case.”
Buhari told our correspondent that members of the union were also victims of police extortion and it would therefore be unwise of them to thwart a protest that seeks to bring an end to police brutality.
A member of the NURTW, however, told a reporter that the heavy traffic caused by the protesters was affecting their livelihoods.
He said, “On a normal day, I do 10 trips. Since these protests started, I have had to reduce my trips to five. It is worse that we are burning fuel and our buses are not operating at full capacity because of the COVID-19 protocol.
“Long hours in traffic cause fuel to burn faster and we are losing money due to no fault of ours. So, some boys decided that it was time to get these protesters off the roads.”
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has voiced his agreement the #EndSARS protests rocking the nation.
Adeboye said this in a tweet on Wednesday evening.
The respected cleric tweeted, “Our daughters will not be able to prophesy, and young men will not see visions if we don’t keep them alive.
“I support the youths in this peaceful protest as they “speak up” to #EndPoliceBrutality #EndSARS #ENDSWAT.”
Adeboye, who is a mentor to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, had earlier in the year embarked on a protest against the killings in several parts of the country.
He had two weeks ago called for restructuring the country, a move which was criticised by the Presidency.
Thousands of youths have been protesting against the extrajudicial killings by police officers perpetrated mostly by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
The protests have continued despite the disbanding of SARS.
About ten persons have been killed in the protests according to the rights group, Amnesty International.
Babafunde Alfa on a day in Court before his sentence
Some members of Sotitobire Miracle Centre, Akure, Ondo State have kicked against the life imprisonment passed on the founder of the Church, Prophet Alfa Babatunde, by the state High Court.
Earlier this month, the court found Babatunde guilty over the disappearance of a toddler, Gold Eniola Kolawole, in his church last November, alongside five other members of the church.
The other five members who received life sentence include, Omodara Olayinka, Margaret Oyebola, Grace Ogunjobi, Egunjobi Motunrayo, Esther Kayode, and Anjorin Gbenga.
On Wednesday, during a visit by SaharaReporters to the church, some members of the church said they were ready to appeal the judgement.
Two of the church members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that effort was being made by some elders of the church to challenge the case and judgment at an upper court.
“So, why would he be accused of kidnapping a child for fetish means?” a member of the church who did not want to be named said. “It is the reason we are appealing the case in a court.”
Another member of the church said that Babatunde was being persecuted by those who hated him for speaking the truth.
“The judgment was one-sided because the father of the boy was accused of knowing the whereabouts of the child, yet the court says nothing about this,” he said. “So, we wonder how the judge came about with his judgment even when the missing child has not been found.
“We know God will do justice to the judgment in due time, but we are still going to meet in the court on the case.”
Babatunde’s church was set on fire by the locals last November following the allegation that he used the toddler for ritual.
Residents close to the church told SaharaReporters that activities had stopped in the premises since the building was razed down.
The once-popular church is now deserted as pests and rodents have taken over its open premises.
The vehicles that were burnt when the church was attacked were still at the location.
A woman, who owns a three-bedroom flat close to the church and former member of the Sotitobire church, Abiola Fadipe, said she and her family had started attending a new mission church since the former was set ablaze.
“For some of us, the ministry has ended because we cannot even say it openly anywhere that we are still members of the Sotitobire church,” she said. “And as for me, I have started attending the Mountain of Fire Miracle Church that is down the street since the incident occurred. I can’t say because the pastor is jailed, I would no longer attend any church for prayers.”
Babatunde’s wife, Abisola Alfa, did not respond to request for comment. Other family members who were contacted by SaharaReporters refused to talk about the judgment.
Nationwide protests against brutality by men of the proscribed Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) entered its sixth day yesterday with new twists and turns.
In Abuja, many of the protesters were injured as they came under severe attacks by thugs armed with dangerous weapons. This happened as protesters, numbering over 1000, occupied the Kogi State Government House.
Also yesterday, a pressure group, under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), declared that it would today (Thursday) commence indefinite protests across the 19 Northern states over the high level of insecurity and killings in the north.
In Abuja, there was confusion at Berger Under Bridge as fierce-looking hoodlums, armed with machetes and clubs, attacked protesters.
The activist had gathered at the Berger area for the third day running, calling for police reform.
They were, however, attacked at about 1pm, throwing the busy area into pandemonium.
While the demonstrators tried to talk with the machete-wielding men, they were attacked, leaving many of them with serious injuries.
The situation degenerated as the assailants started destroying windscreens of parked cars and attacking protesters. Some medics who accompanied the protesters later intervened and rushed some of the injured to the Jabi Medical Centre.
Determined to stand their ground, some of the protesters launched counter-attack on the assailants, injuring several of them. The medical team also treated the injured assailants.
In Kogi, youths blocked the gate to the Government House, denied everyone, including security operatives, government officials, access into the complex.
They insisted the disbandment of SARS by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, was not enough to stop their protest and demanded a total overhaul of the police.
“There is a need for a total overhaul of the Nigeria Police Force,” one of them declared.
They demanded to meet with Governor Yahaya Bello, and rebuffed attempts by the governor’s Chief of Staff, Jamiu Asuku; State Security Adviser, Air Commodore Jerry Omodara, and other government officials to address them.
The protest took place despite an address by the state governor warning that hoodlums had hijacked the march.
Bello had, on Tuesday, expressed worry that people he described as hoodlums and criminals had hijacked the rally.
The governor, who stated this while addressing journalists at the Lugard House, Lokoja, said he was concerned that what had been a generally peaceful protest by citizens was threatening to become mindless attacks on government facilities and running battles with the police.
As part of an effort to discourage the protest, the governor stressed that the disbandment of SARS was only the first step in “our commitment to extensive police reforms to ensure that the primary duty of the police and other law enforcement agencies remains the protection of lives and livelihood of our people.”
AGAINST the backdrop of the continuing protests, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), yesterday, called on President Buhari to address the nation over the agitation and put an end to the crisis in the country.
CNPP said the address by the President would calm nerves and halt the remonstration spreading across the country.
CNPP, in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, said: “There is a time silence is not golden and such a time is now. For the President to continue to keep quiet while peacefully protesting young Nigerians are being brutalised and killed by security operatives raises doubt on how sensitive the current administration is to the plights of suffering Nigerians.
“In case Mr. President is not aware, our findings, since the current unrest in the country began, show that the people are determined and continued deployment of security forces against the citizens will worsen the situation as bottled anger in the last five years of maladministration will finally be unleashed by the citizens.
“We then call on Mr. President to immediately address the nation and order security agencies to leave the protesters alone.”
WHILE announcing the commencement of EndInsecurityNow across 19 northern states, the CNG spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, vowed that the group would remain on the streets until their demands were met.
He told journalists yesterday in Abuja that all CNG state chapters and student wings had been mandated to resume the mobilisation of responsible sections of the civil society, NGOs, women groups, professional associations, artisans and concerned parents in their respective states for the protests started in Katsina State in June.
Suleiman hailed the scrapping of SARS and its replacement with Special Weapon And Tactics Team (SWAT).
He, however, noted that the sudden scrapping of the SARS had now created a huge vacuum in the fight against dangerous crimes in most northern communities.
He urged #EndSARS protesters to support EndInsecurityNow protest.
He called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on security and take practical steps to end all manifestations of insecurity in northern Nigeria and other parts of the country.
He said: “While we welcome the creation of the SWAT to replace SARS, we call for expeditious action for improvement of professionalism among the personnel to be drafted through reinforcement, retraining, equipment update and improved welfare. It is also imperative that henceforth, all formations of SWAT be monitored by officials of the Human Rights Commission and members of the police/community relations to forestall FSARS breaches.
“The coalition has followed developments around the bold and necessary steps taken by Nigerian citizens in some parts of the country, including some northern states, to call attention to the deteriorating national security and other pressing concerns around the dwindling economy, prohibitive commodity prices, rising inflation amidst mounting poverty and prolonged stay at home by university students. CNG notes also the reassuring cooperation and solidarity extended by governors and elected representatives to the protesters in mostly the southern parts of the country and Zamfara and Borno state in the North.
In the unfolding scenario, Suleiman lamented that, while leaders and representatives were quick to identify with their people at the time of need, their counterparts from the North, including the President, the Senate President, Senators, Rep members, governors, state legislators, and other government appointees would rather abandon northern communities exposed to crime, lawlessness, and insecurity in the hands of bandits, insurgents, kidnappers, rapists rustlers, and other violent criminals without any form of protection.
The CNG spokesperson called for a thorough reorientation of the entire police force and its empowerment, saying the group would mount pressure on leaders to show commitment to protecting the lives of citizens, ending the prolonged closure of universities, reconsidering hiked commodity prices, reducing youth unemployment, and checking the rise in poverty level.”
Meanwhile, protesters in the Alausa area of Lagos, yesterday, arrested a suspected armed robber, who infiltrated their ranks.
It was learned that the protesters were standing in small groups around the Lagos State House of Assembly when two boys, alleged to be armed with gun and cutlass, accosted a group of five protesters and wanted to rob them of their phones and other belongings.
The targets of the robbers raised the alarm, making the robbers flee. But other protesters gave them a chase and one of them was apprehended, while the second escaped.
When the protesters descended on the nabbed robber, the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS) officers intervened, rescued the suspect, and took him to the station.
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