…About 100,000 people unfollow Buhari on Twitter — in 24 hours

….Daughters of President Buhari, Osinbajo join #EndSARS protest

….One killed, seven injured in Ogbomoso protest – Makinde

Ibe Pascal Arogorn

The #EndSARS Protesters have vowed not to back down until the government addresses their demand to end police brutality and intimidation carried out by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

They made the vow at the Lagos State House of Assembly in Ikeja on Friday, the third day of protests aimed at ensuring the infamous police unit is scrapped.

One of the protesters, popular comedian Debo Adebayo, said the youths were tired of continued police brutality.

“We are not backing down, we can never back down. Look at everybody here, now I cannot even count the number of people that are here,” he said.

“It is because we are tired. When we came here, we didn’t have five per cent of this number the last time we came here for a protest.

“This is to say that the youths are waking up. While you are waking up, don’t give them another opportunity to shoot us down.

“Don’t give them another excuse to shoot us down. Like I said earlier, we are not here for politics. We are here because we are tired. Enough is enough.”

Speaking further, he asked the protesters to assemble again on Tuesday in the same environment by 9 am, adding that African time wouldn’t be allowed.

Convener of the protest, Rinu Oduala, on her part, shared an update from a meeting between about 20 of the protesters and members of the Lagos Assembly earlier in the day.

“We gave them our petition which was given to Obasa (the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly) yesterday and we made our stand clear,” she said.

That demand summed up is that SARS must be scrapped.

The meeting with the lawmakers was positive, according to her.

“Most of them agreed in our favour that SARS should be scrapped,” she said. adding that full feedback was expected from the legislators on Monday.

About 100,000 people unfollow Buhari on Twitter — in 24 hours

Approximately 100,000 people have unfollowed President Muhammadu Buhari on Twitter as a sign of protest of his management of the current policing crisis across the nation.

A new wave of protests to end the activities of the special anti-robbery squad of the Nigerian Police Force (SARS) has been sweeping across the globe in the last 96 hours, calling on the president to scrap that unit of the nation’s police.

Buhari did not respond to the protesters until Friday night when he tweeted a photo from a meeting with the inspector general of police (IGP) and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

The president said he has asked the IGP to address the issues and lead a police reform.

“The IG already has my firm instructions to conclusively address the concerns of Nigerians regarding these excesses, and ensure erring personnel are brought to justice,” Buhari tweeted

“I appeal for patience and calm, even as Nigerians freely exercise their right to peacefully make their views known.”

Nigerians were not impressed by Buhari’s response, and decided to continue the protests nationwide — gaining traction internationally as one of the top trends across the world.

A Twitter user called on Nigerians to unfollow the president on the micro-blogging platform. According to him “unfollowing Buhari is also a form of protest?”

“We can help him shave off 1.5 million followers,” he added.

Less than 24 hours after the tweet was made, about 100,000 people have unfollowed the president, reducing his followership from 3.5 million to 3.4 million.

The actual numbers are unknown; Twitter uses an approximation method to determine what is shown on every individual profile.

According to a web archive accessed by TheCable, Buhari had 3.24 million followers in June 2015 shortly after he became president.

His followership grew to 3.46 million as of October 1, 2020, but crossed the 3.5 million mark about a week later — just before the protests began nationwide. But has now seen a drop in numbers.

The call to unfollow the president is growing on the platform — just as protests have continued nationwide.

Daughters of President Buhari, Osinbajo join #EndSARS protest

President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Zahra, and Vice President Osinbajo’s daughter, Kiki have joined the ongoing #EndSARS protest against police brutality in the country.

Kiki Osinbajo had on Saturday shared a post on her Instagram page saying “Police brutality must end now” using the hashtags #endpolicebrutality and #endsars

While Zahra Buhari shared an image on her insta-story that says “#EndPoliceBrutality

One killed, seven injured in Ogbomoso protest – Makinde

The Oyo State Governor , Seyi Makinde , has condemned the killing of one Jimoh Isiaka during the #EndSARS protest in the Ogbomoso area of the state.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Makinde said seven other persons were injured during the protest on Saturday.

The PUNCH gathered that Isiaka was shot by one of the men of the Nigeria Police Force while attempting to disperse the protesters .
However, the Oyo State Police Command denied killing Isiaka, claiming that its men only fired teargas at the protesters .
It was gathered that Isiaka had been buried according to Islamic rites .

The governor identified two of the seven injured protesters as Abdulrasaq Olawale and Oluwadamilare Gbolohunmi .
He tweeted , “ I have received with deep sadness the news of the passing of one of our children, Jimoh Isiaka, who was shot during the #ENDSARS protest in Ogbomoso . He later died at Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso , earlier today ( Saturday ) .

“ Also , at this same protest , Abdulrasaq Olawale , Oluwadamilare Gbolohunmi , and five other persons sustained injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment .

“ This situation is highly regrettable. I have contacted the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State , Nwachukwu Enwonwu , and other relevant agencies, and investigations into what led to the unfortunate incident are still ongoing.

“ I pray that God grants the parents of Jimoh Isiaka the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss. ”

The governor also ordered an investigation into the death of Isiaka, promising that he would pay a personal visit to the deceased family.

He added , “ The #ENDSARS protests are a strong indicator of a systemic failure . It is a failure on the part of those who have been constitutionally empowered to protect the citizens.

“ It again calls into question why State Governors are called Chief Security Officers of their state whereas , they do not have the necessary powers to control the police force .

“ I will be paying a personal visit to the family of Jimoh Isiaka and I promise to pursue the investigations to a logical conclusion.

“ Peaceful protests are a big part of our democratic process . The right to freedom of speech and assembly are guaranteed by our Constitution , and I will never support any attempt to rob citizens of their fundamental human rights.

“ I call on all residents of Oyo State to please remain calm . I also call on the Police to allow residents of Oyo State protest peacefully without fear of being assaulted .

“ Again, I express my deepest sympathies to the family of Jimoh Isiaka, may his soul rest in peace . ”

We only fired teargas at Ogbomoso protesters -Police

The Police Command in Oyo State has debunked the reported shooting of EndSARS protesters in Ogbomoso by its personnel.
Some youths had, on Saturday , stormed major streets in Ogbomoso to demand the ban of the Special Anti – Robbery Squad, an arm of the Nigeria Police Force.

One of the protesters was said to have been shot by the police in the process .
An eyewitness told NAN that the victim was shot in the leg by the police when the protesters reached Owode police station in Ogbomoso .

The witness said the man was shot, as the policemen were trying to ensure that the station was not attacked by the protesters .

He added that the victim had been rushed to an undisclosed hospital in the town .

However, the Public Relations Officer of the command , SP Olugbenga Fadeyi , in a statement issued in Ibadan on Saturday, said the police did not fire a single shot at any protester .
Fadeyi said the protesters were allowed to express their grievances for over one hour .

“ According to the information I gathered from the officers monitoring the protest, the police did not fire shot at anybody.

“ The protesters were allowed for over one hour to carry out their protest and express their grievances until when some of them wanted to forcefully enter the police station with a view to attacking it.

“ The police only fired teargas to disperse the protesters ; they did not fire shot at anybody as widely reported , ’’ Fadeyi said .

EndSARS protesters vandalise Ogun Deputy Gov’s car, injure police officer

Youths in their hundreds on Saturday besieged major streets in Abeokuta, the Ogun State to demand for an end to the operations of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria police in the country.

The protesters, who began their peaceful demonstration from Panseke went through Omida, Sapon to the Ake palace, before moving to Oke Ago Owu.
Some of the protesters were armed with placards with various inscriptions, while some were seen with charms.

They unanimously demanded an end to the operations of the anti-robbery squad.
Barricading the road from Panseke to Omida, Isale Igbein, they stopped at Ogun State Government House to express their grievances, but the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, was not there to attend to them.
Police officers were deployed in strategic locations across the state capital to ensure that the protest was not hijacked by hoodlums.

The peaceful protest later went out of hand when the protesters stormed the palace of the Olowu of Owu in Abeokuta, venue of the 2020 Owu Day Festival and vandalised the Ogun Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako Oyedele’s vehicle and also injured a police officer.

It was gathered that the protesters barricaded the entrance of the palace where the event was taking place, seeking an audience with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to an eyewitness account, the police officers at the venue of the event thought it was a peaceful protest.

He said, “the officers were not on the defensive while trying to disperse the protesters, so they never prepared for the attack”.

He explained that the deputy governor’s vehicle was vandalised where it was parked, saying that the deputy governor was inside the Olowu’s palace when the incident occurred.

“From what I was able to gather, the protesters broke off from the main protest going on within Abeokuta metropolis and moved to the Olowu’s palace.

” The protesters almost turned the event bloody. They stormed the venue but were not allowed entry, they inflict serious injury on one of the officers.

“The other officers later shot into the air to disperse the protesters who were adamant even after the intervention of Obasanjo.

“Three of the protesters later arrested while others escaped,” he said.

It was further gathered that the State Police Commissioner, Edward Ajogun quickly rushed to the palace to restore order.

The injured police officer was later taken to hospital for medical attention.

Abuja #EndSARS protesters storm Force HQ, demand to see IGP

In the face of the protests against police brutality in the country, End SARS protesters in Abuja on Saturday stormed the Force Headquarters, demanding to see the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

A senior police officer, who came out of the building to address the crowd, was interrupted as they shouted: “We want to see the IG”.

EndSARS protester asks Pornhub to join protest

An anonymous #EndSARS protester on Twitter has asked popular adult entertainment site, Pornhub to join the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria.

The #EndSARS movement has continued to draw attention from the international community prompting the Twitter user to tag the American adult entertainment firm.

According to him, Nigeria is part of pornhub’s fanbase and that most of the sites fanbase are youth.

He said further that Nigerian youths who spend time surfing the website for the right video are being brutalized and killed.

Therefore, he analyzed that pornhub would have no subscriber if all the youths in Nigeria are dead hence, the firm should lend its voice in protest.

However, Pornhub is yet to yield to the request of the protester who tagged them on Twitter.

Oyetola sues for calm

Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun has appealed to the people of the state to exercise restraints in the course of protesting against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), saying that government is already responding to their outcry.

Oyetola, in a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode, on Saturday in Osogbo, urged the residents not to take laws into their hands.

The governor said that people should be mindful of the fact that Osun was a peaceful state and that President Muhammadu Buhari had given directives to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to wade into the SARS matter immediately.

We appeal for calm and urge our citizens to continue to uphold the peaceful profile of the state by not taking laws into their hands.

“Let us not be tempted to attack public property and facilities, which took government and taxpayers many years of sacrifice and struggles to build.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has given directives to the Inspector-General of Police to bring to justice officers who might have been found culpable of infringing on the rights of citizens.

“We believe that the Nigerian Police Force has taken note of our agitations and that the IGP will call his men to order, where necessary,” he said.

Oyetola reminded the resident of the patriotism of the vast majority of police officers in the country, who, he said, had been committed to protecting the lives and property of Nigerians over the years.

According to him, a lot of them have died in the course of discharging their duties.

“Let us, therefore, not take our anger against a reckless few on the entire police force that is working day and night to ensure our safety.

“Our citizens can count on the efforts of the state government to continue to do everything possible to protect citizens from actual and potential threats.

“Let us not destroy our collective heritage, while trying to right the wrongs of others. Two wrongs don’t make a right”, Oyetola said.

Residents of the state had joined the ongoing protests in some parts of the country against SARS over alleged infringement on the rights of Nigerians by its personnel.

Rema cuts signature hairstyle in solidarity

Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper, Divine Ikubor known professionally as Rema, has joined the #EndSARs protest.

The vibrant singer in solidarity with the movement did the big chop by barbing his signature dreadlocks.

The Dumebi crooner took to his Twitter page to show off his new hair-cut with a caption “Dreads don’t mean I’m a criminal #EndSARS”