A civil society organisation, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, said three years after, the government and the leadership of security services have not demonstrated sufficient commitment to addressing the root causes of #EndSARS and to prevent its repeat.
The group said #EndSARS happened because government, especially the leadership of the police failed to pay serious attention and take appropriate actions in response to numerous complaints and grievances against widespread police violence and oppression in the country.
The Executive Director, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, stated these in a statement he issued on Friday, adding that the government behave like they had learnt no lessons after the event.
Nwanguma added that the government at all levels had not come through in terms of the police reforms they promised during the protest.
The statement read, “Three years after the #EndSARS protest across Nigeria, and the ugly aftermath of that spontaneous, youth-led rebellion against police brutality, the government and the leadership of security services do not seem to have demonstrated sufficient commitment to addressing the root causes of #EndSARS and to prevent its repeat. They behave like they have learnt no lessons.
“Some parts of the country are still suffering from the aftermath of #EndSARS and its ruthless suppression by security forces at the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos. Police officers themselves remain major targets of attacks in some parts of the country.
“The police are unable to respond to crime in some communities, but are instead committing crimes and human rights violations against citizens both in the context of fighting insecurity and as tools of political repression.
“The recommendations in the reports of the various states and federal judicial panels of inquiry on complaints by victims of police brutality are yet to be implemented. Perpetrators are yet to be brought to account. Victims are yet to receive redress and remedies.
“Far reaching reforms are yet to be initiated to prevent human rights violations, entrench the culture of accountability and restore public trust in the police.
“The promise to improve the welfare of police officers as a means of fighting corruption and humanizing the police has also not been fulfilled. It would appear that government made those promises merely to assuage public anger and then do anything once public attention shiftted with the efflusion of time.”
