A former Minister of Finance and Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged youths protesting against police brutality, extrajudicial killings and extortion to be peaceful.
While she commended the youths for being courageous, the Okonjo-Iweala advised them to be united.
She gave the advice in a tweet on Sunday.
“I applaud the resourcefulness and courage of Nigerian youth in the #EndSARS. Powerful to let your voices be heard peacefully. Let’s join hands for a positive outcome through a One Nigeria approach,” she tweeted.
The #EndSARS protest is to stop police brutality in Nigeria.
The protesters at inception came with five demands, including the release of all arrested protesters and justice for deceased victims of SARS, compensation to their families.
They equally demanded that there should be an independent committee to oversee the investigations and prosecution of any member of SARS found guilty of extrajudicial killings.
They demanded that all personnel of the disbanded SARS undergo a psychological and medical evaluation as well as retraining before they should be redeployed to other services of the police.
The protesters also demanded that the salary of the police should be increased in a manner that they will be adequately compensated for protecting the lives and property of citizens.
In meeting the demands of the protesters, on October 11, the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, dissolved SARS across the 36 state Police Command and the FCT.
On October 12, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said the disbanding of SARS was a first step in the comprehensive reform of the police.
On October 13, the IGP ordered all defunct SARS personnel to report at Force Headquarters in Abuja for debriefing as well as psychological and mental examinations.
On the same day, the Presidential Panel on the Reform of SARS accepted the five-point demand of the protesters.
The National Economic Council presided over by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo with the 36 state governors and FCT Minister as members met on October 15 and directed the immediate establishment of state-based Judicial Panels of Enquiry across the country.
The NEC also directed governors to immediately establish state-based special security and human rights committee to be chaired by the governor in each state.
