I was worried about Yemi Alade, my relatives during Lagos #EndSARS — Angelique Kidjo

Beninese-American singer-songwriter and activist, Angelique Kidjo, says she expressed deep concerns about the safety of Nigerians, especially her relatives and young artistes like Yemi Alade during the #EndSARS protests that started from Lagos last year.

Reacting to the protest during a recent interview with Apple Music 1, the 60-year-old Grammy award winner bared her mind on the issue.

“When the #EndSARS movement started in Lagos, I was worried for everybody— my family members and other people I know. I then decided to reach out to Yemi Alade to find out how she was doing, especially when they started shooting at people.

“She (Alade) said to me, ‘Mum, I’m afraid. They are killing us’. I then told her to please stay off the streets. Let’s use music as a message of hope and tell what you want to say to people.”

The #ENDSARS protests had lasted between October 7th and 20th in Lagos and several other states of the federation.

While the protests lasted, relations, friends and associates of missing persons claimed that their relations had either been killed or held incommunicado by security agents.

Of particular concern was the Lekki toll gate shooting of Tuesday, October 20, where peaceful #ENDSARS protesters were shot at by security agents, leading to a yet-to-be ascertained number of casualties.

The shooting incident had attracted national and international outcry, with the Lagos State and Federal governments being urged to unravel the identity of the shooters and who deployed them.

Recall that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari has alleged that the #EndSARS mass protest was a coup in disguise to remove him from office.