Cops afraid for safety as #ENDSARS protest heats up in Osun

“We’re in total mess,” says policemen targeted in association with SARS

Note: This story has been updated to reflect protesters gathering for another day of protests

Residents are gathering in Osogbo for another day of #ENDSARS protests and policemen are complaining of being targeted.

Some policemen in Osun have complained they are in danger as youth intensify protests calling for the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad to be scrapped.

A policeman who spoke with Daily Trust on condition of anonymity said policemen who were not in SARS were targeted by the protesters, harassed and humiliated.

“The guys that are protesting against SARS are wild and despirate. They have guns and they shoot anyhow. They don’t value human life. They can kill. We are not safe. So, who will check them?”

Another Policeman told Daily Trust that he and his colleagues were no longer able to move about in police uniform because it was not safe given the manner the irate youths were harassing policemen.

According to him, “The youths protesting against SARS have guns and they were shooting as they were passing. Who are you to caution them or stop them?

“These are people agitating for scrapping of SARS. We are in total mess. Something must be done before things will get out of hand. During their last protest to Police Area Commander’s office in Osogbo, they damaged vehicles parked outside and most of the cars belong to policemen,” he said.

The policeman said the youths were planning another protest and appealed to government and police authorities to take proactive measure to nip the ugly trend in the bud.

SARS has come under intense criticism for the conduct of its operatives targeting young people on grounds of “flamboyant lifestyle without tangible means of income”.

Young people are routinely picked up for possessing electronic gadgets, extorted, threatened, humiliated. Some have been killed.

Police in Delta have also raised concern that the #EndSARS protest has been hijacked by hoodlums after a policeman was shot and killed and another injured.

Meanwhile, Ghanian artiste Shattawale joined celebrities lending their voice to the protest.

I have been following what’s happening to our people in Nigeria and as someone who believes in freedom and justice, the rise of the streets, I will like to say these things must stop ? Police brutality anywhere is a threat to nation building #StopPoliceBrutality #EndSARS ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/5p4Q43wdCJ

— SHATTA WALE (@shattawalegh) October 10, 2020