Destruction that trailed #EndSARS protest ‘sponsored’, ‘fuelled’ by govt – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said the wanton destruction and bloodletting that trailed the #EndSARS protests in the country were “fuelled and “sponsored” by the Federal Government.

Falana said this on Tuesday, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

In 2020, Nigerian youths embarked on peaceful protests, to demonstrate against the high-handedness of operatives of the now-defunct police’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The protests later metamorphosed into asking the government to fix the country. It was  eventually hijacked by hoodlums and the protests ended with the killing of several harmless protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos.

The government has continued to deny that anyone died in the attack by the personnel of the Nigerian army, despite evidence and investigation by foreign media.

The senior advocate stated that about 99 Nigerian youths were killed in Lagos, among several others in other states of the federation.

He accused the Nigerian government of sending troops to kill the youths in Lagos, Oyo, and Benin among other states.

“The violence that characterised the end of the #EndSARS protest was instigated, fuelled and sponsored by the government”, he said.

“The government decided to unleash hoodlums and thugs on the young people. When that did not work, the government sent troops and soldiers to engage in the killing of young people.

“In one week, about 99 people were killed in Lagos. I don’t want to talk about Ogbomoso, Port Harcourt, Benin and other places where young people were shot at and killed.

Again, angry youths have decided to embark on a nationwide protest over the hardship, poverty, and high cost of living among other economic indices.

The protest tagged ‘EndBadGovernance’ is gaining traction on social media, and has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August. The organisers of the protest have been faceless.

While President Bola Tinubu had on Tuesday asked the organisers to shelve the planned protest, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun has cautioned over the protest, claiming it may turn violent.

But Falana is asking the Federal Government to identify the leaders of the planned protest and dialogue with them instead of threats.

“So, this time around the government should try to identify the leaders of the movement and then engage them, and then the questions be raised. There are demands that are being made, and the government should address these demands,” Falana stressed.

“Between now and the first of August is still a long way and I understand the government is going to address the nation. It is also important for governors to really come out and let the people know what they are doing to address hardship in the country which nobody is denying.”