As protesters mark the 3rd Year Memorial of the #EndSARS protest at Lekki Toll gate on Friday, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, pledged to ensure the safety of the demonstrator.
Owohunwa, who was at the ground of the protest said, “It has been stable. We had one nor two groups that came around here for procession and they have been working within our understanding of how it should be. As a citizen you reserve your right to exercise your freedom and franchise, we respect it, we protect it.
“We do it in such a way that, in the cause of doing that, the groups members will not also be exposed to any form of danger. That is what we owe them and that is what have done.”
Owohunwa further said, “But, then we also made it clear that for the overriding public interest, we will also not allow a situation where those groups conduct them in manner that will put the interest, security, the peace, around Lekki and environs and across the state into jeopardy.
“We also owe the state the responsibility to guarantee their safety. So we’re trying to strike a balance and that’s it so far so good.”
To commemorate the 3rd year anniversary, some protesters, including Nigerian skitmaker, Adebowale Adedeyo popularly known as Mr Macaroni, stormed the Lekki Tollgate amid heavy presence of police officers at the Lekki tollgate.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa and other top police officers were also in the area.
Details On #EndSARS
The hashtag #EndSARS movement was started by the youths to resist the alleged brutality by personnel of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a team under the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and their sister agencies.
However, what started as a civil disobedience rapidly degenerated into a full-blown riot as lives were lost and properties were destroyed.
While the government claimed that 22 policemen died during the protest that was later hijacked by hoodlums, the protesters accused the government of killing over 100 demonstrators, a claim the government debunked.
To douse the fire of the demonstration, the authorities eventually caved in to pressure by dissolving SARS.
Three years after the monumental protest, what has changed? Are the youths of Nigerians treated fairly afterwards? Are there still security operatives that brutalise the young population of the country?