- Hoodlums set Lagos police station on fire
- Senate in emergency closed door meeting
- Ibe Pascal Arogorn
Lagos State Governor , Babajide Sanwo- Olu has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the state effective 4pm on Tuesday ( today) .
He said , “ I have watched with shock how what began as a peaceful #EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well -being of our society . Lives and limbs have been lost as criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella of these protests to unleash mayhem on our State .
“ As a government that is alive to its responsibility and has shown a commitment to the movement #ENDSARS, we will not watch and allow anarchy in our dear state.
“ I , therefore , hereby impose a 24-hour curfew on all parts of the State as from 4pm today , 20th October , 2020. Nobody , except essential service providers and first responders must be found on the streets . ”
Hoodlums set Lagos police station on fire
Suspected hoodlums on Tuesday burnt down the Apapa Iganmu Police Station in Lagos State .
The incident occurred around 09. 45 am , according to an eyewitness.
The eyewitness, identified simply as Muibudeen , noted that policemen shot at the hoodlums before they set the police station ablaze .
The spokesperson of the Apapa-Iganmu Local Government Area, Ayo Micheal said , “ Yes , the station has been attacked .
“ The burnt Station is in Apapa Iganmu but serviced both Iganmu community in Apapa Iganmu and Orile Community in Coker /Aguda . ”
Micheal noted that two persons were allegedly shot dead in the incident.
He added , “ What happened is that some boys came out this morning. They assembled themselves at Orile Junction.
They were about marching down to Apapa . Just like yesterday that they started at Apapa Ports . They were on their way to Apapa, I learnt they passed through the police station and protested there .
“ As they were protesting, police officers attempted to disperse them . They resisted the police. Before you know it, two boys were shot in the shoulder and chest.
“ The two of them have died , according to reports that I got. “
Senate in emergency closed session
The Senate is currently holding an emergency closed session apparently to appraise the current #EndSARS protests rocking various parts of the country.
No sooner had the senators resumed for the day ’ s plenary around 10:55am on Tuesday, than the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, called for an emergency session .
Apart from the issue of #EndSARS protests which the senators are discussing, our correspondent learnt that the issue of the confirmation of Aisha Dahir – Umar, as the substantive Director General of the National Pension Commission.
The Committee on Establishment and Public Service led by Senator Ibrahim Shekarau , had last Thursday, screened and cleared Dahir -Umar and other nominees for the board of PenCom .
Aggrieved senators who are spearheading the campaign against the confirmation of Dahir- Umar, are said to be poised for a showdown at today’ s plenary, which obviously necessitated part of the reasons for the closed session.
Youths protest in Nasarawa
Scores of youths numbering over thousands in the early hours of Tuesday converged on the Chicken Republic , along the Jos /Makurdi Road of Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State to peacefully protest #EndSARS.
Ekiti Govt. denies sending army to harass protesters
Ekiti Government has described as untrue and misleading the social media reports that soldiers have taken over the Ado- Ekiti, the State Capital, and chased protesters with guns.
Ekiti Commissioner for Information and Value Orientation, Akin Omole said this in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday, in Ado-Ekiti.
Omole said soldiers did not engage the protesters even as they barricaded most roads in the state capital throughout Monday.
According to the Commissioner for Information, “the soldiers were in Ekiti to protect the people, including the protesters as well as to prevent hoodlums and miscreants from hijacking the peaceful protest by hiding behind the demonstration to commit a crime and harass innocent citizens.
He described the present administration led by Gov Kayode Fayemi, a renowned activist and advocate of good governance as “a respecter of human rights.”
Omole admonished the ENDSARS protesters to remain law-abiding and refrain from harassing innocent fellow citizens to avoid a total hijack of the protest by criminals and hooligans.
Omole noted that Fayemi has promptly set up a Panel of Enquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS and Related Abuses to investigate possible cases of police brutality in the Ekiti state in line with the decision of the Governors’ forum and the recommendation of the National Economic Council.
The Commissioner assured that the panel which has retired Justice Cornelius Akintayo as Chairman and representation from Civil Society Organizations, including youth groups, will look into verifiable cases of SARS brutality and fatality and ensure offending SARS officers are identified and prosecuted appropriately while victims or their families are duly compensated.
He also stated that the Ekiti state government is aware that the concerns of the public go beyond a need for Police/SARS reforms to a basic demand for better governance, emphasizing that the state government had already commenced consultation with the people to address the fundamental issues that led to the protests with the establishment of the panel.
“While the present administration in Ekiti recognizes and respects the right of peaceful assembly, and in fact, identifies with the people on the demand for good governance, all stakeholders must be mindful of the safety of all lives and both public and private properties in the state.
“Innocent law-abiding citizens should be allowed to go about their lawful businesses without hindrance, while there must be due cognizance of the fact that willful destruction of property will be detrimental to the socio-economic wellbeing of the people,” Omole said
He assured that the Fayemi led administration would continue to work towards making life more meaningful for people in the state, in spite of the global economic downturn and the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s no longer business as usual — WIC
The World Igbo Congress, WIC, has said that the significance of the ongoing protests across Nigeria is an indication that there is no more business as usual in the country.
WIC expressed solidarity to Nigerians for demonstrating against the wrongful killings of Nigerian youths by members of SARS, noting that the protests are indications that power truly belongs to the electorate and not the elected.
According to WIC Public Relations officer, Hon Basil Onwukwe, “The electorates have woken up from their slumber and democracy will begin to make sense now. The lives of many have been mismanaged and this moment if well managed will be a moment of history to remember.”
The Igbo group stated that SARS had been terror a squad against Nigerians, especially the youths and the unprivileged in the society, adding that the government had remained silent over the atrocities despite calls from the masses.
“It is the organization’s interest to promote equity, fairness, good governance. This is the beginning of the end of ‘business as usual’ in Nigerian, where the leaders’ damn consequence of their actions.
“World Igbo Congress is expecting all the groups involved in the protest action to be peaceful and we call on the government security apparatus to ensure that lives and properties are protected for the interest of the country.
“Protest is not an illegal action; it is a civic responsibility, and the government must treat it as such to avoid any countermeasure that will escalate it,” Onwukwe said.
Sporadic shootings in Abuja as soldiers disperse protesters
There was tension in some parts of Sokale and FO1 areas of Kubwa on Tuesday morning following an invasion by soldiers who fired sporadically into the air to disperse some #EndSARS protesters who had gathered to begin the day’s protest.
While passers-by scampered to safety, residents who were still in their houses immediately shut their doors and windows even as motorists on the Bwari-Dutse Alhaji road became stranded due to the ensuing gridlock on the route.
The protesters had erected a barricade at the Sokale roundabout area and Winners road and had begun settling into the protest before the invasion by soldiers in three trucks.
Meanwhile, hoodlums have taken over some parts of the Apo Mechanic village, attacking motorists and attempting to loot some shops in the area.
The hoodlums who had earlier attacked #EndSARS protesters the previous day were said to have mobilised to the area on Tuesday morning to halt the peaceful protest against police brutality.
Stop attacking #EndSARS protesters with hired hoodlums, policemen, PANDEF warns
PAN Niger- Delta Forum PANDEF, has demanded a halt to acts of intimidation, harassment and physical assault by hired hoodlums and police officers of well-meaning young Nigerians peacefully indicating their frustrations over how the affairs of their country are being conducted.
PANDEF, umbrella body of monarchs, leaders and stakeholders of the coastal states of Niger-Delta, in a statement by the national chairman, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (retd.) said the brutalization in various cities across the country, particularly Abuja and Benin City, Edo State, was condemnable.
It also deemed the nationwide “Operation Crocodile Smile” exercise announced by the Army as most provocative and another unnecessary misadventure. It is our well-considered stance that soldiers have no business trying to do “police” job and thus do not have to get involved in the peaceful and intellectual #EndSARS protests
The statement read in part: “We further demand the commencement of unbiased investigations into these incidents to swiftly bring to book all those behind the criminal and undemocratic acts across the country. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians, including the youths who are protesting to take back their rights as citizens of their fatherland.”
“We will not sit and continue to see our children being wantonly brutalized or killed. Enough is enough. PANDEF would like to warn those who think Nigeria belongs to them alone and therefore, others have no right to protest against democratic abnormalities and unconstitutional tendencies in the country, that it is no longer acceptable
“If SARS, which virtually became a terror gang in some parts of the country is strangely being highly esteemed in another part to the extent that they are calling for its retention, then there is a fundamental problem in the present structural architecture of Nigeria.
“We had expected that President Muhammadu Buhari should have addressed these young people openly with a fatherly countenance to assuage their justified anger, instead of the deployment of the military and police against them and the tactless enabling of hired armed thugs to unleash terror on the peaceful protesters,” the regional body added.
