Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday expressed understanding with Nigerians who feel that government has “simply not done enough” to protect its citizens from police brutality, giving room to the #EndSARS protests which have erupted across the federation in the past week.
The protest by Nigerians, mostly youths, against police brutality and alleged extrajudicial killings of the infamous Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), has garnered global support.
Despite the disbandment of SARS by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the protests and demonstrations have continued to build momentum across the country. The protesters are demanding for police reforms among other issues.
Among the demands of the protesters are justice for deceased victims of police brutality, inauguration of independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of reports of police misconduct.
Osinbajo said, “I fully understand how many young people feel. Many feel that we have been too silent and have simply not done enough. These feelings of frustration are justified. There are far too many people who have been brutalised at the hands of the police and this is unacceptable. We must take responsibility for protecting young people, even sometimes from those who are paid to protect them.”
He added, “Over the past week, we have been following the protests, and I have had a number of discussions with key people in the administration that you deserve to be informed about. Transparency, after all, is a key tenet of government.”