By Appolos Christian
Nigerians in Diaspora Organization in the Americas (NIDOAs) have thrown their weight behind the ongoing ENDSARS protests embarked upon by the Nigeria youths across the country.
The protests are a call to end police brutality and other inhuman treatments being meted out to many Nigerians by some personnel in the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS unit of the police department.
In a press statement titled “Re: Letter of Support for our Nigerian Youth” jointly signed by the NiDOAs Public Relations Director, Zee Nagberi from United States of America, USA; the Public Relations Officer, PRO, NiDOA (Brazil), HRH Adekunle Aderonmu; the Public Relations Officer (Canada), Ben Nwachukwu and the Public Relations Officer (USA), Dr. Bartholomew Shepkong and made available to Newsmen in Abuja on Monday, the group also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for mustering the political will to disband the police unit.
The group urged the government to embark on peaceful negotiation with the Nigeria youths to find a lasting solution to the issues on the ground.
The statement read thus: “We, in the Diaspora, commend the effort of our Nigerian youth for standing up against SARS and the corrupt practices by the Nigerian Police and other Security Agencies. By using their
voices and carrying out peaceful protests, they succeeded in the abolition of SARS by our President.
“As we all know, our youths are our greatest assets as a country. The economic velocity of our country, to a great extent, depends on them. They play a vibrant and inevitable role that will lead to growth and development of our economy in every aspect.
“It is quite unfortunate that we are witnessing the ongoing problems leading to the arrests, injury
and loss of life of innocent citizens, especially our youth. Even though we are in Diaspora, our Hearts are with our brothers and sisters who are currently incarcerated, have been injured or
even lost their loved ones due to this tragic situation. Please know that we are in full solidarity with our families back home.
“In as much as we commend our President for his swift action of ending SARS, we believe that this will not completely rectify the corrupt practices within the Security Agencies. Therefore, we are seeking a reform of the Nigerian Police and other Security Agencies for the total eradication of corrupt practices within the system. The Government of Nigeria must hold corrupt officers accountable for their actions.
“We believe that the first line of action to the healing process of this tragic situation would be the release of all incarcerated protesters, compensation to those families of protesters killed and a plan of inclusion of the Nigerian youth in the rebuilding of our Nation and Security Agencies.
“We would expect the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to continue to carry out a peaceful dialogue with our youth, taking into consideration their voices, to create law and order and equal justice for all.
“God bless us all. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
