President Muhammadu Buhari has again appealed to Nigerian youths who are currently protesting against Police brutality to stop the protests as Federal and State government are already addressing their demands
The protests assumed a new dimension on Wednesday following the killing of some of the protesters in Lagos, by men suspected to be members of Nigerian military, a position military authorities in Nigeria have denied.
The President’s appeal came as criminals and hoodlums hijacked the hitherto peaceful protests, looting and burning down houses in Lagos.
The looters have turned their anger against some defenseless institutions, including looting the palace of the Oba of Lagos, even as they also burnt down the family house of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo- Olu, on Wednesday.
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But the President, in a statement signed by the Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, again appealed for calm, even as he listed actions so far taken by the President to address police reforms
These include the signing of a Bill establishing the Police Trust Fund, in 2019, to mobilize additional funding for the welfare and equipping of the Nigeria Police Force. Accrual of funding into the Fund, as specified in its enabling Act, has commenced.
The statement noted that no fewer than 13 States have gone ahead to establish the Judicial Panels of Inquiry as resolved by the National Economic Council to address the question of redress and justice for victims of police brutality across the country.
The States that have set up the panels so far are: Lagos, Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Ogun, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Plateau, Edo, Nasarawa, Ondo and Akwa Ibom.
Under the Chairmanship of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the National Economic Council (NEC) at its meeting on Thursday October 15, 2020 resolved to establish State-level Judicial Panels of Inquiry, to investigate allegations of Police brutality and ensure that all erring personnel are brought to justice.
President Buhari had also in 2018 approved an increase in Police salaries and the Police personnel budget has seen a rise from 288 billion Naira in the 2018 Budget to 417 billion Naira in the proposed 2021 budget; an increase of 45 per cent.
Only on Tuesday, at the commissioning of the Nigerian Police Pension Fund Limited building, the President also reiterated continuous support for both serving and retired police personnel.
The President has equally approved the rollout and funding of a new Community Policing Initiative, as part of a larger programme of police reform in Nigeria, aimed at rewriting the rules of engagement between the Force and citizens.
“President Buhari’s commitment to extensive Police reforms should never be in doubt. The President in September 2020 signed the new Nigeria Police Act, the first comprehensive revision of the Police Act in decades.
“As President Buhari declared, the immediate dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), is the first step in a set of reform policies that will deliver a Police system accountable to the Nigerian people.
The President has also approved full implementation of the report of the 2018-2019 Presidential Panel on Police Reform.
“Indeed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Police Service Commission (PSC) have now commenced the implementation of the Report” the statement noted
The Presidency therefore, appealed for understanding and calm across the nation, as the implementation of the reforms gathers pace at Federal and State levels, reiterating the full commitment of the Buhari Administration to the implementation of lasting Police reforms in Nigeria.
