Stop Criminalising Our Protests, Osun #EndSARS Protesters Tell Govt

 

#EndSARS Protesters in the State of Osun have called on the state government to stop criminalising its decision to lend its voice against police brutality and bad governance in the country.

The protesters through, its spokesperson, Olawale Bakare and its mobilisation secretary, Olushayo Ogunleye, in a statement on Monday accused the state government of recruiting some forces to attack and threaten the members of the movement from expressing its greviances.

Bakare alleged that the government had in its moves to dehumanise the protesters sent thugs to attack peaceful demonstrators; a move he said is at variance with the tenets of democracy.

The Osun #EndSARS movement also called for the immediate sack of the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Yemi Lawal over his alleged role in the clampdown against youths seeking good governance.

He said “We seek protection under the law against the anti-democratic tendencies in Osun State, to repress, threaten and attack peaceful protesters. It’s quite unfortunate that the individuals who are supposed to be the custodian of democracy and preserve law and order are rather found culpable of unleashing terror on peaceful protesters plus setting up a kangaroo leadership to mischievously misrepresent the movement.

“We hereby call for the immediate and unconditional review of this Judicial Panel of Inquiry, we request that no
panelist must have controversial antecedents and track records of service must be acceptable to the protesters.

“We emphatically demand that the protesters should also be adequately and satisfactorily represented in the Judicial Panel of Inquiry as a way to encourage transparency, whatsoever with the state government are of questionable characters.

“No kangaroo representation of the protesters is allowed, impostors posing to
be the #EndSars protesters and the representative of the National Youths Council of CAC for violating the stipulated age requirement of The National Youth Policy

“We hereby wish to seize this opportunity to warn the Government of Osun State to stop criminalizing our peaceful protests and contracting hoodlums to attack and brutally
disperse the protesters.”

“We also demand that every sitting of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry which must comprise
of persons of integrity and moral excellence, must be aired and televised live for all the
people of Osun and Nigeria at large to follow,” Bakare noted.