The Federal Government of Nigeria has finally bowed to the pressure from its citizens by granting all the requests made by the #EndSars protesters.
These requests includes;
· Immediate release of all arrested protesters.
· Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families.
· Setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct (within 10 days).
· In line with the new police act, psychological evaluation and retraining (to be confirmed by an independent body) of all disbanded SARS before they can redeployed.
· Increase police salary so that they are adequately compensated for protecting lives and property of citizens.
In a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said among the terms agreed to are
-halting use of force against protesters and unconditional release of arrested citizens.
The Ministry of Police Affairs and Police Service Commission were also present at the meeting affirmed the five-point demand of the protesters and the ENDSARS movement are genuine concerns and will be addressed by the government.
Following the public protests regarding various forms of human rights violations by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and the consequent disbandment of the unit by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, there arose the need for stakeholder engagement to build trust and restore public confidence in law enforcement.
The agitations also brought to the fore, the need to implement the recommendations of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The Forum was addressed by the Inspector General of Police and the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission.
