EndSARS divided Lagos, stirs distrust between the youths and the authorities. Lagos Governor wants to rebuild that trust with a walk of peace.
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has invited EndSARS advocates to join him in a Peace Walk in Lagos in December to foster peace in the state after the EndSARS protest that rocked the state in 2020.
He called musician Falz, comedian Mr Macaroni, EndSARS convener, Segun Awosanya, Seun Kuti, Dele Farotimi and others to join him in the Walk.
The governor skipped other EndSARS activists like Rinu Oduala who are vocal promoters of EndSARS.
RELATED
Sanwo-Olu reignites hope in #EndSARS report, says he’ll be guided by evidence
Sanwo-Olu was addressing the EndSARS Panel recommendations on Tuesday.
The Lagos Panel report has generated controversy in Nigeria with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed trying to discredit the report. Mohammed insisted that there were no deaths at the Lekki Tollgate incident on October 20, 2021.
Analysts say Sanwo-Olu was trying to add some credibility to the panel’s report which he constituted last year but failed to take a position on the report.
He also invited the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu to join in the Walk.
About EndSARS
End SARS was a decentralised social movement, and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria. The slogan was a call for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police with a long record of abuses.
The protest takes its name from the slogan started in 2017 as a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #EndSARS to demand the disbanding of the unit by the Nigerian government. After experiencing a revitalisation in October 2020 following more revelations of the abuses of the unit, mass demonstrations occurred throughout the major cities of Nigeria, accompanied by vociferous outrage on social media platforms. About 28 million tweets bearing the hashtag were accumulated on Twitter alone.
Solidarity protests and demonstrations by Nigerians in diaspora and sympathizers occurred in many major cities of the world. The protests was notable for its patronage by a demographic that is made of entirely young Nigerians.
The movement has since expanded to include demands for good and accountable governance.