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#EndSARS: ‘Stop killing our children’, Nigerian mothers join nationwide protests

Nigerian mothers risk their health and comfort to demonstrate around Lagos on Friday, demanding an end to the controversial police unit.

• October 9, 2020
Screenshot from protest video
Screenshot from protest video

Nigerian mothers on Friday took to the streets to protest brutality of the police special anti-robbery squad, risking their health and comfort in solidarity with young men and women who have become a regular target of rogue police officers.

The mothers joined the protests that got underway in Lagos earlier this week. The protests dragged into the night on Wednesday and Thursday.

Their response came as Nigerians are threatening to shut down major airports in the country should President Buhari fail to announce the proscription of SARS, Peoples Gazette reported earlier.

@josteez_ posted a video of hundreds of women crying on the streets of Lagos calling for the end of SARS.

The women were carrying placards with different inscriptions such as “EndSARS, stop killing our leaders, Stop killing our children.

Also, protesters in Lagos have taken over the expressway of Magodo to the end of the State Secretariat. It’s standstill now throughout the state, Peoples Gazette understands.

@DoyinSoExtra posted a video of angry youth protesting against SARS brutality as well as calling for the end of SARS.

Last week, police Inspector-General Muhammed Adamu said he understood the campaigners’ demand, and even announced fresh guidelines on personnel conduct.

Citizens and rights groups, including Amnesty International, however, said the measures announced by the police leadership were suspicious and insufficient.

The campaigners and some federal lawmakers, including Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and member Akin Alabi, want the police to yield first to their demand and scrap the SARS unit, then institute another squad to combat worsening insecurity.

This week, Lagos, Abuja, Delta, Benin among others saw protracted protests demanding immediate end to police brutality in the country.

Yesterday, Peoples Gazette reported the harassment of protesters by police in Lagos, Benin, and Delta.

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