Bakare Tells Buhari To Fish Out Those Who Ordered Soldiers To Open Fire On End SARS Protesters. Will He?
For more than 10 days, young Nigerians demanding the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit in the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), gathered at the Lekki toll gate and other parts of the country to peacefully protest as they waited for the government to go beyond paying lip service to the disbandment of the notorious unit and follow it with a reform of the entire force.
The peaceful gathering at the Lekki toll gate where they sang, danced, dined, prayed and also paid tributes to those who have been felled by police bullets turned to a bloodbath on Tuesday October 20, 2020 as soldiers opened fire on the protesters under the guise of enforcing the curfew imposed by the Lagos State Government.
The military and the government have denied the attack which was streamed live on Instagram. The action of the military and the government has also received local and global condemnation.
Pastor Tunde Bakare of The Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC) has now joined the growing list of those who have condemned the attack. He’s calling for a probe.
Bakare, who ran as Vice Presidential candidate alongside Buhari in 2011, told the president in a nationwide broadcast on Sunday October 25, 2020, to “ensure that those who ordered armed soldiers to fire on innocent citizens are fished out and made to face the full weight of the law.”
It is left to be seen whether this will ever happen as the government has embarked on a fake news campaign to discredit the reports. Buhari himself snubbed the incident in his national broadcast on Thursday October 22, 2020 which sent shockwaves across the nation. He was widely criticised for lacking empathy for a leader of a nation in turmoil.
In the address, the president sternly warned the protesters against allowing themselves to be used to destabilise the nation’s nascent democracy. He also told members of the international community, who have condemned the military’s action, to ‘mind their business’ and stop rushing to judgement.
Bakare says the president must “ensure that those who ordered armed soldiers to fire on innocent citizens are fished out and made to face the full weight of the law.’’
“The officers who carried out such wicked acts should also be prosecuted under international legal standards”.
‘‘The government must move from commitment to full compliance in the implementation of the 5-for-5 demands of the End SARS protesters and in overhauling our policing architecture.’’
The question on everyone’s lips: Will Muhammadu Buhari listen?
