By Uzor Odigbo
Following hints that the army is planning to forcefully quell #Endsars protest, the northern elders have rejected the proposed “Operation Crocodile Smile” by the Nigerian Army, noting that insecurity and hunger were behind the continuous protests by #EndSARS campaigners in the country.
While protesting against killings, intimidation and harassment of protesters by men of the Nigeria police, the elders under the aegis of the Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development, called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to “urgently arrest the erring police officers and hoodlums responsible for the attacks.”
These observations were contained in a communiqué issued on Saturday evening after the expanded meeting of CNEEPD held in Abuja.
The communiqué was signed by Zana Goni, North East; Dr Mohammed Suleman, North West; and Prof Ofa Afolabi; North Central.
The CNEEPD said that the best way possible for the President to restore public confidence in security agencies was, “the immediate restructuring beginning with the sack of the service chiefs.”
The 12-point communiqué reads in part, “We support in totality the continuous peaceful protests by Nigerians across the country over police brutality and call on the protesters to remain focused and peaceful.
We condemn the persistent insecurity in Nigeria particularly in the North, despite the huge investments so far running into trillions of naira to the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
