EndSARS convener calls Nigeria Police a terrorist organisation

Segun Awosanya, a civil rights activist and #EndSARS convener on Monday described the Nigeria Police Force as a terrorist organisation.

“As it were I can only speak for FSARS Lagos. The remaining have bitten the evil fruit in conspiracy against our youth. They rob/abduct our youth in and out of uniform without shame along side SAKS/SACS/MobilePolice etc the Police are indeed a terrorist organization in Nigeria,” Awosanya also known as Segalink said in a tweet.

In Nigeria, the relationship between the police and the citizens they are paid to protect and serve is sour and marred with several cases of police brutality, theft and extra-judicial killings.

Between March and April 2019, about nine persons died in different parts of Nigeria as a result of the misuse of firearms by police personnel.

With the number of casualties increasing, the Nigerian government and the police authorities have assured Nigerians of better conduct from police officers.

However, the unethical conducts from the security officers persist.

Awosanya, in a series of tweets tagged “#EndImpunity”, lamented that Nigerians have become victims of misuse of power and firearms in the hands of security operatives.

He further opined that “Everything has failed in Nigeria.”

“If you are a coward you are already dead. This is all I will say for now while most believe this is just some distant ailment that will never reach them. Keeping quiet is as good as pulling the trigger.”

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Police Reform Bill into law to curb activities of security officers who misuse power.

“Anti Cultism (a unit of the Nigeria Police) in Lagos abduct our youth & force them to confess to being a cultist, keeping them for days without charging them to court but demand huge ransoms. Where are the Magistrates that the ACJA 2015 mandates to check these excesses? Complicit?,” Awosanya said.

The #ENDSARS convener described the pressure tactic by security operatives to get youths especially to confess to crimes they did not commit as madness.

“There is no doubt this will end in a bloody revolution if this madness continues,” Awosanya said, “It is unfortunate the affected generation are too distracted to realize their future is being cut short. Globally the youth are favored by tech advancement & prone to succeed but not in Nigeria.”