The Kwara State police command has denied attacking End SARS protesters in Ilorin on Sunday.
“Since the beginning of the protest in Kwara State, the protesters have enjoyed the full protection of Kwara State police command,” according to a statement by the spokesman of the command, SP Okasanmi Ajayi in Ilorin, on Sunday.
He said “There has neither been any negative reports from the protesters, nor the citizens in the course of the protests.”
Giving an account of the Sunday violence during the protest, the spokesman said “Today’s protest, as peaceful as it was at the beginning, witnessed a hitch towards the end, when some of the protesters attempted to loot shops at the post office area but were promptly resisted by the shop owners.”
“The tweet in question is an obvious mischief that should not be taken seriously,” the statement added.
The state Commissioner of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, again reiterated the command’s absolute commitment to the protection of lives and property and human rights of the people in the State, and by extension that of youths on peaceful protests.
He appealed to the youths who are protesting, to carry out their protests peacefully as they have been doing in the past eight days, and watch out for criminal elements in their midst looking for opportunity to loot shops of other law abiding and hardworking youths.
He said peaceful protest, “is a right that must be exercised without violating the rights of others,” adding that “the protesters therefore should refrain from violating the rights of others.”
“We should not be pushed into a crisis that will hurt our economy further when we are yet to recover from the economic hurt of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown,” he cautioned.
DAILY POST recalls that Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, had on Sunday, condemned the violent attacks on the End SARS protesters in some parts of Ilorin, the State capital.
He tasked security agencies to identify, arrest and prosecute the daredevil attackers immediately, saying the attack must not go unchallenged.
