Security

Lagos State Police Command has banned End SARS protests scheduled to hold in the state on Wednesday.

The security agency said it never agreed to allow street protests in commemoration of the October 20 anniversary of the demonstration, which cost many lives last year.

Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, in a statement on Tuesday, announced that only indoor and virtual gatherings will be allowed.

The spokesman said such events will get adequate security in recognition of the rights of every Nigerian to express his or her interest.

The police disclosed it received intelligence that some groups or individuals were planning to stage an anti-EndSARS demonstration.

Ajisebutu noted that due to the conflicting interests and threats of mayhem, any form of street protest from now is prohibited.

He said after a critical assessment of the planned protests and attendant implications on public safety, “the command considers it inappropriate to allow such protests to hold”.

“It will not stand aloof and allow a breakdown of law and order which the protests may cause.”

The police vowed to forestall a recurrence of the gory scenarios which claimed the lives of officers, civilians, and businesses in 2020.

“The police will not abdicate the protection of lives and property by allowing avoidable incidents”, the PRO added.

Daily Post

Security

Youth in Osun State have staged a protest against brutality and extra-judicial killings by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the police.

The protesters, who stormed the popular Olaiya junction in Osogbo carried placards with different inscriptions to register their grievances.

The spokesperson for the protesters, Mr Gbenga Olaleye said the protest became imperative in the face of brutality being faced by the youth.

Mr Olaleye noted that the youths could not trust the pronouncement of Nigeria police, saying the SARS had been banned in 2019 only to resurface after some months.

He said their demand was the dissolution of the SARS unit of the Nigeria Police Force over cases of killings, harassment and extortion by its personnel.

Mr olaleye maintained that the youths would continue to protest injustice and unlawful harassment.

Wasiu Oladosu