protests so as to avert anarchy.
“Leaders should stop instigating the protests because that could lead to
anarchy,” information and culture minister Lai Mohammed said in a
special NAN Forum on Monday in Abuja.
The minister, who spoke specifically on the EndSARS protest and the way
forward, said he was disappointed that some leaders were encouraging
youths to remain on the streets even after government had met their
demands.
“The protests are turning violent, unfortunately, many of our leaders
are falling short of expectation.
“Rather than advise these youths, they have been instigating them and
this is very disappointing.
“All leaders, opinion, religious, political, including traditional
rulers, should be very careful in their interventions.
“They have the right to intervene and a lot of them have huge
followership, but they should not incite; they should proffer solution
not to complicate the matter on the ground.
“They should emphasise that the protest is genuine and that the
government has listened. They should let the youths know that everything
the government has promised will be fulfilled,’’ he said
Mohammed said that the original conveners of #EndSARS had lost control
of it, while hoodlums and people with an ulterior motive to destabilise
the country had taken over the protest.
He declared that encouraging protests that could lead to anarchy was a
disservice to the nation.
“We are talking of the very existence of the country because some people
are using the genuine protest to seek an end to democracy and
representative government.
“We are talking of a protest that has descended into an orgy of
violence, looting, killing, and attempted assassination of a state
governor.
“A protest that led to hoodlums taking over the whole city of Benin,
releasing inmates and setting Police stations ablaze.
“This is not what any leader should support or instigate the youths to
continue with,’’ he said.
Mohammed noted that all the demands by the protesters had been met by
the government, adding that some states had started implementing the
directive by the National Economic Council.
He specifically noted that some of the states had set up judicial panels
of inquiry to look into allegations of Police brutality and
extrajudicial killings.
He said that the states had also set up a special victims’ support funds
to compensate victims of Police brutality and abuse, in addition to
special security and a human right committee on Police reform.
The minister explained that the government decided to decentralise the
dialogue, reform, and compensation because the governors were in the
best position to engage leaders of the group in their respective states.
He appealed to the leadership of EndSARS to put forward their demands
and approach the governors who are already waiting for them. (NAN)