Less than 24 hours to the termination of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operation by President Muhammadu Buhari, Lagos Sate Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged Nigerians not perceive such move as a facade.
He made the appeal after his arrival from Ondo State where he was Chairman of the All Progressives Congress governorship campaign team.
Sanwa-Olu who described the disbandment of SARS by the IGP, Mr. Muhammad Adamu, as a victory for Nigerian youths also prayed the protesters to be peaceful.
The EndSARS campaign tailored towards eliminating police brutality and extortion witnessed Nigerian celebrities marching the streets and holding placards with inscriptions, while others along with their foreign counterpart followed suit via their various social media handles.
The governor said the protests showed that the government respects the rights of its citizens adding that “the government meant business about the disbandment of SARS. We should not doubt the government’s sincerity.
“The beauty of democracy is that people have the right to protest, to air their views, to speak out when things are not going right and I have identified with them.
“This is real democracy being played out. They have the right as our youths, as our citizens to correct and say we do not want this.
“Let me commend all of our youths that have come out in Lagos. I have been monitoring on a daily basis and it has been very peaceful. That is what we want, you can actually make your point in a peaceful and orderly manner.”
The Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammad Maigari Dingyadi in a tweet, also urged Nigerians to see the disbandment of SARS as government’s commitment to consolidate the bond between Nigerians and the police to further better service delivery.
I urge Nigerians to see the disbandment of SARS, as government's commitment to deepening relationship between Nigerians and the police, for better service delivery. Let's continue to work together to secure our communities.
— Minister of Police Affairs (@MinofPoliceNG) October 11, 2020
However, the protesters argued that previous commitments announced by the force to dissolve the unit and other personnel had no effect.
