The Senate on Tuesday urges President Muhammdu Buhari to urgently address the nation on issues raised by ENDSARS protesters.
The upper chamber also appealed to the protesters to end the protests and allow government deal with issues raised in their five point demand.
The requests followed a motion entitled, #EndSARS: Need for comprehensive and holistic reforms, sponsored by the Senator Biodun Olujimi (PDP -Ekiti South) at the plenary presided over by the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan.
She recalled that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was created in 1992 as a unit of the Nigerian Police Force to deal with crimes such as robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping amongst others.
She added that a June 2020 report by Amnesty International entitled, “Time to End Impunity,” documented 82 cases of torture, ill-treatments and extra-judicial killings of Nigerian citizens against SARS between January 2017 and May, 2020.
Olujimi noted that Police brutality in Nigeria could be traced to the colonial era when the force was mainly used to suppress dissent against colonial rules, force the people to obey draconian policies and thwart protests against colonial repression.
According to her, some of the documented police brutalities during the colonial era included the killing of 21 miners and wounding of 50 workers during the Enugu Colliery strike of 1949; suppression of the women’s riot (December 1929 – January 1930) in the Eastern parts of the country, which led to the death of 55 women and serious injury to more than 50 others; and the quelling of the Tiv riot of 1960 where 19 civilians were allegedly killed and 83 injured.
Olujimi lamented that police brutality had continued during the post-colonial era.
She, however, expressed concern that despite the disbandment of the SARS unit by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and the promise to reform the police, the EndSARS protest had increased in intensity and violence with socio-economic activities paralyzed across Nigeria.
Contributing to the motion, Senator Adamu Aliero (APC – Kebbi Central), called on the Federal Government to deploy whatever means necessary to end the #EndSARS protest where dialogue fails.
“I want to suggest strongly that dialogue should be used to get the youths to suspend the #EndSARS protest. Where dialogue fails, then we should use whatever means is possible to end it. Otherwise, it will lead to anarchy.
“Already, a number of properties have been burnt, a number of people have been killed, and no responsible government will allow lawlessness to take place when it is in power.
“Of course, it is normal in a liberal democracy like us for protests to take place, but where it is being hijacked by hoodlums unleashing violence on innocent citizens, government should live up to its constitutional responsibility by ensuring that law and order is maintained.”
The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, however, cautioned against measures that would bring harm to the protesters.
He said, “These are our children, we don’t want any harm to come to them. We are not in support of any position that will bring harm to them. ”
Omo-Agege explained that the demands of the protesters were not such the president could grant by fiat because they were constitutional matters.
“We are a country of law and govern by law. They (protesting youth) should give peace a chance and give us the opportunity to address the issue,” he said.
The Minority Leader, Enyinaya Abaribe (Abia South), however, emphasised the need for the president to address the nation in order to quell the protest.
He said, “Part of what will resolve the issues is for the President to address the nation on them. In doing that he must set up Judicial Panel made up of people respected by same youths. The notorious officers of SARS should be prosecuted.”
Abaribe said he could supply five major notorious officers of SARS apart from the 37 already listed by the Federal Government.
The Senate President appealed to the youths to stop the protest and allow government entertain their demands.
“You have made your points it is time for government to act on the demands that have been accepted. Protests like this are wake up calls.”
The Senate consequently urged all tiers of government to put in place and sustain policies and programmes of socio-economic reforms that raise the standard and quality of life of our people, particularly youths who are leaders of tomorrow;
It called upon the police and other securities agencies to operate strictly in accordance with the rules of engagement appropriate to a democratic environment that abjures the use of aggressive and brutal force against peaceful protesters;
It urged the IGP to ensure a holistic, comprehensive reforms of the police to include the overhaul of the welfare, training and medical insurance of all members of the Nigerian Police Force;
It appealed to all Nigerians to resort to use of legal and institutional channels of resolving conflicts and disputes instead of misusing security agencies to secure undue advantages.
The Senate urged Nigerians, especially the youths, to approach the National Assembly committees on Constitutional Reforms in order to secure far-reaching and holistic amendments that are vital to the restructuring and re-shaping our Federation to make it an inclusive and viable polity;
It urged the Federal Government to faithfully and comprehensively implement all the five demands of the #EndSARS movement and protesters.
