Despite the warning by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, that no force should be used against the ENDSARS protesters, gun-wielding police officers dispersed demonstrators demanding an end to the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) with the viral #ENDSARS in Abuja on Monday.
The protesters had massed around the busy Keffi- Abuja Express Way around the Karu axis in the suburb of the nation’s capital in their numbers as early as 8:30 am brandishing different placards and banners with varied inscriptions and some of them draped in Nigerian flags chanting songs, BusinessDay observed.
A phalanx of police officers emerged from under the Karu Bridge and chased the protesters away with horsewhips as the protesters ran for cover in different directions.
At the time of this development, one of the protesters told BusinessDay on the phone that “since the police have resorted to the use of force to disperse peaceful protests, we will regroup and intensify the protests,” adding that there is no going back on the protests until the government acquiesce to their numerous demands.
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The IGP on Thursday warned all Police Officers across the country against the use of force on peaceful #ENDSARS protesters demanding fundamental reforms in the policing system in Nigeria not just the disbandment of SARS.
The IGP noted that citizens have fundamental rights of freedom of expression, assembly and movement, which must always be upheld and protected by the police. The IGP however, appealed to protesters to continually conduct themselves peacefully and guide their ranks against infiltration by criminal elements.
BusinessDay also observed gun-wielding soldiers around the popular AYA in a manner that suggests they are ready to stop protesters from coming from the Karu axis into the city centre.
Meanwhile the protesters have remained resolute in the protests that have been sustained for about 13 days now. In other parts of Abuja such as Apo resettlement the roads leading to the main city have been blocked as protesters have reportedly taken over the road causing serious gridlock, eyewitnesses told BusinessDay on Monday.
In Lokogoma, a suburb of the FCT, distraught workers and business people coming into the main city are having hectic time because the roads were blocked as the protesters appear to have taken over the roads forcing commuters to take different routes, the eyewitness said.
