News

Oct 22, 2024

#EndSARS Memorial: APC Government Lacks Shame, Yet To Implement Judicial Panel Report — Lagos AAC Chairman | Sahara Reporters

He emphasised that the government's refusal to implement the recommendations from the judicial panel established to investigate police brutality highlights its commitment to oppression rather than

He emphasised that the government's refusal to implement the recommendations from the judicial panel established to investigate police brutality highlights its commitment to oppression rather than justice.

Comrade Ayoyinka Oni, Chairman of the African Action Congress (AAC) Lagos State chapter, has slammed the All Progressives Congress (APC) government, asserting that the governmenr has consistently suppressed protests, particularly those related to the #EndSARS movement.

In a statement marking the #EndSARS memorial, Oni criticised the government's ongoing violence against peaceful demonstrators, adding that both the Muhammadu Buhari and the Bola Tinubu administrations have shown a blatant disregard for the people’s rights.

Oni stated, "The reason police brutality continues to this day is that we lack leaders and a system that works."

He emphasised that the government's refusal to implement the recommendations from the judicial panel established to investigate police brutality highlights its commitment to oppression rather than justice.

"They were found guilty by the panel, and it would be class suicide for them to punish the tools they use to oppress the people," he added.The AAC leader reiterated his call for accountability, specifically targeting military and police personnel implicated in violence against protesters.

"We will not rest until disciplinary action is taken against LT Col S.O. Bello and his men from the 65 Battalion, acting under the 82 Division Garrison; Major General Godwin Umelo; DPO Raji Maroko Division; and his officers," he asserted.

Oni insisted that the recommendations for dismissal and stripping of ranks outlined in the panel's report must be enforced.

The statement read, "The events of October 20, 2024, were predicted and expected, as this has been the APC government's response to all past memorials in the last four years.

The oppressive APC government, from Buhari's regime to Tinubu's tenure, has consistently clamped down on protests, with extra violence reserved for the #EndSARS protest.

"The message they are sending to Nigerians is simple: we will not implement the recommendations of the panel because we supported the massacre. We all know who gave the order - Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police."

Oni explained that the Nigerian government directed police officers at the Lekki toll gate to clamp down on protesting citizens, who were then tear-gassed, hunted, beaten, stripped naked, tortured, brutalized, molested, shot, and thrown into a Black Maria like animals before being taken to Panti.

"It took social media, regular media, and the intervention of myself, Baba Oloye, National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement; Comrade Sanyaolu Juwon; and a few other leaders and members of TIB picketing Panti Station, along with three of our lawyers, including Barrister Effiong, before they were released."

He added that the act of cowardice from the regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Babajide Sanwo-Olu would not go unchallenged.

He noted that protest is a fundamental human right enshrined in the constitution and backed by international documents that the Nigerian government has signed.

According to Oni, the freedom of movement, speech, peaceful assembly, and right to dignity cannot be taken away from Nigerians by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, or any other governor in the country.

"As the people of Lagos and Nigeria look towards a party of the masses like the African Action Congress gaining power at the center, we will continue to lead and march with them against this oppressive regime.

"The African Action Congress will build trust, respect, and confidence back into the police system by restructuring and removing all corrupt officers, regardless of rank. The Police Act of 2020 cannot be implemented properly in this oppressive, corrupt, and power-drunk regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu."

The Lagos AAC Chairman said that no amount of continuous repression at the Lekki toll gate can change the fact that the APC government attacked, maimed, and killed unarmed, helpless, and unresisting protesters while they sat on the floor and waved the Nigerian flag.

"The APC government has not implemented a single recommendation from the panel's report. No justice, no peace - the people will never stop demanding it.

"The blood of Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa, Kolade Salami, Foloursho Olabisi, Tola, Wisdom, Kenechukwu Udoh, and others who were killed at the toll gate will continue to speak through the voices of the people until we get justice," Oni added.

View the discussion thread.