President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked by the Senate to urgently address Nigerians over the ongoing #EndSARS protest in different parts of the country.
The lawmakers made the call on Tuesday following a motion sponsored by former Senate Minority Leader, Biodun Olujimi.
Olujimi, who represents Ekiti South, moving the motion on the floor of the Senate, traced police brutality in Nigeria to the colonial days.
She decried the situation where police officers continued to assault citizens despite the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu.
Senator Olujimi said, “They have increased with intensity and violence with compatriots losing their lives. The protest has grown to include the demands for good governance.
“In June 2020, Amnesty International, in a report documented that between January 2017 and May 2020, there were 82 cases of torture, ill-treatment and extra-judicial killings by SARS.
“That latest #EndSARS protests which have assumed a global dimension began on the 3rd of October 2020 from the video of the SARS officer who shot a young man in Delta State.”
Further calling for an improved welfare for police officers, she said, “The barracks are in very bad shape, they must be up to living standards. Training and medical insurance to all members of the Nigeria Police Force.”
The motion was adopted after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, put it to a voice vote.
The #EndSARS protest has continued for about two weeks now with the protesters demanding for a total reform of the Nigerian Police.
