Scores of youths across Ondo State on Wednesday had a memorial procession to mark one year anniversary of the #EndSARS protest. The protesters reminded the Inspector General of Police (IG) that his ‘boys’ are back on the street, not after armed robbers, bandits, kidnappers but after the Nigerian youth. This is coming one year after #EndSARS protests rocked Ondo State and Nigeria at large.
The protesters, who gathered at the entrance of the Akure City Hall, with policemen providing security, walked through Oba Adeshida road, NEPA roundabout and the Police Command Headquarters, Akure.
Addressing journalists, the leader of the the protesters, Mr. Tope Temokun, said: “The memorial protest is to honor our slain heroes, to demand that our goverment must continue to tell us the truth, because our goverment has been feeding us with lies over the years.
“Our coming out today after a year of the protest to end brutality in Nigeria both from the police and the government, is to remind the government that we need only one thing from them and that is the truth.
“We came out on October 20, 2020 to protest against brutality and they told us we were going to get justice; they told us we were going to get the truth and redress and that victims will get compensation but after one year, we are still on the street. “What we are witnessing today is brutality from government and the police. We have submitted petition to the government of Akeredolu to implement the recommendation of #EndSARS panel that was submitted to him to address the grievances of the protesters.”
He said the youth are not tired of standing up to challenge all forms of injustice.
“We are also here to remind the Inspector General of Police that his boys are back on the street. They are not after armed robbers, bandits, kidnappers but they are after the Nigerian youth.
“They are back on the street, searching phones and laptops to know whether you are having conversations with someone abroad. They want you to transfer money from your account to their account. So, we are saying that the brutality has not ended,” Temokun said.
Carrying banners with various inscriptions, they demanded justice for those they claimed were killed during the protest.
Properties worth millions of naira were destroyed in Ondo State during the #EndSARS protests, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) Secretariat, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat, the disbanded SARS office along Oda road, in Akure, the state capital.
In Okitipupa, properties worth millions of naira were also destroyed, while some stores were looted. Ultimately, this led to the arrest of some suspects accused of arson.
One of them was Kemisola Ogunniyi, who gave birth in the prison custody (correctional Centre) almost eight months after her arrest.
It took the intervention of human rights activists to get her bail with the sum of N10 million. Up till now, her case it still in the court.
source: thisday