#EndSARS protesters disrupt Owu Day in Ogun
Protesters calling for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Saturday disrupted the 2020 Owu Day festival in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other notable personalities were in attendance. #EndSARS: Kaduna youths join calls to ban SARS #ENDSARS: Delta, Osun governors want Police reform, call for calm Pandemonium […]
FILE PHOTO: #ENDSARS Protesters
Protesters calling for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Saturday disrupted the 2020 Owu Day festival in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other notable personalities were in attendance.
- #EndSARS: Kaduna youths join calls to ban SARS
- #ENDSARS: Delta, Osun governors want Police reform, call for calm
Pandemonium broke out when security agents fired gunshots to disperse the protesters, who invaded the venue of the festival at Oke-Ago-Owu.
The annual Owu festival is organised to showcase the cultural heritage of Owu kingdom, where Obasanjo hails from.
The protesters had barricaded the entrance to the palace of the Olowu of Owu, Oba Adegboyega Dosumu, where the event was holding, demanding an audience with the former president.
It was gathered that the refusal of security agents to grant the protesters access into the palace infuriated them as they chanted EndSARS slogan repeatedly.
Security agents, comprising the police and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) shot sporadically into the air to disperse the protesters.
This resulted in pandemonium as people around the area scampered to safety to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
Our correspondent further gathered that a policeman who was trying to disperse the crowd was attacked and injured by the protesters.
Youths also stormed major streets of Ota, Ijebu-Ode and Abeokuta, demanding an end to the operations of the SARS.
The protesters had earlier on Saturday blocked the Government House, Igbehin in the state capital.
Police officers were deployed to strategic locations across the state to ensure that the protests were not hijacked by hoodlums.
The protesters insisted that they would continue until concrete steps are taken to reform the operations of SARS and other tactical squads of the police.
The deputy coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South-West zone, Oladimeji Uthman, distanced the association from the protests, reportedly carried out by some students.
He said the South-West body of the NANS had not given any directive for protests against the police brutality.
He said this during a meeting with the South-West leadership of the Police Community Relations Committee in Abeokuta.