One of the leading voices of the #EndSARS protests rocking different parts of the country, Aisha Yesufu, has alleged that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), ordered the men of the Nigeria Police Force to attack protesters expressing their dissatisfaction over the brutality and extrajudicial killings by the operatives of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the police.
Yesufu, who spoke in a Facebook Live Chat with The PUNCH on Monday afternoon, said had the President not given the instruction, he would have sanctioned the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, for the several assaults on #EndSARS protesters by his men.
It had been reported that the attendant street protests which led to the disbandment of SARS turned violent in some parts of the country, with a protester identified as Jimoh Isiaka, shot dead in Ogbomoso, Oyo State on Saturday.
Buhari in a video on Monday subsequently said he had ordered a probe into the killing of the young man while noting that officials of the disbanded team found to be responsible for wrongful acts would be brought to justice.
Yesufu during the chat hailed Nigerian youths for “breaking the yoke of oppression” by trooping out to protest all over the country.
She said, “There is an order from Major General Muhammadu Buhari that they should shoot and clamp on protesters. He is the Commander-in-Chief and he is the one who gives the final orders.
“The President has been on the streets several times protesting. He is the one who was teargassed in Kano when he went to protest that he lost the election with his running mate, Chief Chuba Okadigbo, who later died from the gas inhalation.
“He went to court. Femi Falana was his pro bono lawyer and it was said that the police have no right disturbing anybody, all they have to do is to protect people and it is so sad that it is the same President today who is clamping down on protesters.”
“The reason I feel so convinced is the fact that Major General Muhammadu Buhari is the Commander-in-Chief and all the buck stops at his table. Anybody acting contrary to his instructions will definitely get a query and you see they aren’t getting any query. That means they are doing exactly what he wants them to do.
“If for example, it was not his order for them to clamp on protesters, by now the IG of Police should be facing a query, he is either suspended or sacked. That is what a leader does when a subordinate does something contrary to what he wants,” she insisted.
The activist also said the #EndSARS movement is an opportunity for national reformation.
“This is the time of reformation, this is the time of overhauling and that is exactly what is happening now. The youths have always been waiting for crumbs and these people would never give them the power,” she added.
(Punch)
