Joy Anyim
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, has said the resilience, restraint and professionalism displayed by officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in the face of #EndSARS unrest has rubbished claims on police brutality.
Recall that the #EndSARS protesters made demands for an end to police brutality, extortion, and impunity in the force.
IGP Adamu, who was speaking to operatives in Lagos, on Tuesday, said the virtue exhibited by officer has turned the table against its accusers, the protesters.
Attributing the cause of the unrest to fake news peddled on social media, the IGP praised operatives for returning to their constitutional duties despite attacks on their offices, vehicles, and private properties.
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IGP Adamu stated that 10,596 suspects had also been arrested for arson, vandalism and perpetrating other violent crimes during the #EndSARS unrest that affected 14 states.
He assured the men of President Muhammadu Buhari’s backing and favourable reforms, stating that the NPF is special and must be treated as such.
He said, “The #EndSARs protest was engineered by fake news that emanated from Delta where the local security outfit called Operation Delta Safe was on routine stop and search patrol, when they accosted two individuals out of guilt, one of them bolted out of the vehicle and an individual who wanted to spread mischief took photo of the incident put it on social media that SARS had killed somebody and that led to protest in Delta State.
“On the course of investigation it was discovered that none was killed , but then with the use of social media everything went so wide to the extent that Lagos picked it and it became a serious matter. Lagos became the epicentre if the protest. The #EndSARS that started sometime in 2017, was resuscitated. They came with five demands, and after about four days, the authority acceded to those demands because they are demands that could led to the reform of SARS.
“Our expectation was that after the demands were met, they will live the street but they did not leave the street. It is known that when people come out to protest and they stay too long on the street, their is always a tendency of the protest subsequently turning violent, because hoodlums will infiltrate the protesters and at the end of the day it will become violent.
“We have seen massive destruction of private and public properties. We seen destruction of business, police stations and in Lagos state it is the worst. We saw attacks in correctional services.
“Police is the face of government, when the police is attacked by hoodlums, the tendency is to be provoked. And when you are provoked, they have the power, the capacity to repeal these people. But you showed restraint, without using maximum force to repel the miscreants, the criminals who went about destroying properties and killing people.
“So, that resilience, restraint, have shown that no amount of provocation will lead you to give credence to what they have been preaching on police brutality. I congratulate you for showing restraint, resilience and that has turned the table against the protesters. Everybody knows that you were professional in handling the protest which later turned violent.
“Despite the fact that your station, properties and vehicles were burnt you still came out to perform your constitutional responsibility. Also 10596 suspects have been arrested as a result of this violence.
“So the Nigerian police has the support from the highest authority. So it is not that everybody dislike the police. There are those who can come openly say they support the police, but they call to say we are with you. ”
IGP Adamu said he was happy with the fact that not everyone in the country agreed with the violent protest, and that not everybody in the country agreed the police is bad.
He noted that as in other professions, there are few that are bad in the police, but maintained that majority of Nigerian Police officers are good.
In his plea to the police boss, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Hakeem Odumosu, asked that the slain policemen be promoted posthumously.
Mr. Odumosu also urged the IGP to provide the command with addition equipment, and make four water cannons available to mange riots in the state.