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Kolade Johnson’s death reignites #EndSARS campaign

Michael Orodare
By Michael Orodare
8 Min Read
Kolade Johnson

Angered by the alleged killing of a Nigerian man by policemen from Anti-Cultism Unit of the Lagos State Command, Nigerians have reiterated their call for a scrap of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other notorious units of the police force.

WuzupNaija reports that the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, had ordered the immediate disbandment of the Federal SARS, Special Investigation Panel and Special Tactical Squad on his assumption of office in January.

The deceased identified as Kolade Johnson was killed on Sunday afternoon after being hit by a stray bullet fired by police officers during a raid in his neighbourhood in Lagos. The police officers were said to have fled the scene after the incident.

The incident has however reignited the hitherto silent call on the Nigerian government to scrap SARS and also reform the police force, as Nigerians have taken to Twitter to vent their anger over Johnson’s death.

In his reaction via his Twitter handle, convener of the #EndSARS movement, Segun Awosanya (SEGA), clarified that the raid was carried out by the anti-cultism unit and not the SARS unit. He assured that his team would get justice for late Johnson.

Sega also reiterated his call for the reform of Nigeria police urging the National Assembly to speedily pass the Police reform act bill into law to put a stop to the killings of innocent Nigerians.

He wrote:

“I understand that it may be difficult for citizens to tell the difference but this is the doing of the Special Anti Cultism Squad (SACS)- Gbagada NOT SARS. We can confirm that SARS don’t do indiscriminate raids any longer. They have no buses & have been on a short leash.

“Now that the recalcitrant Anti Cultism acting as Criminal Fashion have started killing our youth in the bid to intimidate, abduct and rob them of money, we will ensure this is the last time that unit operates. The end has come.

“It takes approximately less than 6hours to trace SARS offenders and bring them to book while the impunity of SACS & SAKS never gets punished nor do their leadership consider their action a crime against the state. This is why we must act decisively this time.

“We can’t afford to be reacting on a case by case basis. We have to put a protocol in place NOW pending the signing of the New Police Act Bill into Law. No more lives must be lost on this matter. We’ve kicked against the dissolution of the initial protocol serving as a stopgap.

“We will implore the to prioritize the passing of the for the assent of the President. We can’t continue to watch our young die while we pursue the cure to symptoms. We need this urgently.”

International human rights organisation, Amnesty Nigeria in its reaction to the killing, said restructuring SARS is not enough unless the Nigerian government takes concrete steps to protect its citizens.

It wrote via its Twitter handle:

“Many attempts to reform SARS, including the one ordered by @ProfOsinbajo in August last year have been ineffective. Nigerians are still brutalized by SARS. Restructuring SARS is not enough unless the government takes concrete steps to protect Nigerians.@PoliceNG #EndSARS“

Former Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reform Dr Joe Abah also wrote on Twitter:

“Being young is NOT a crime. Having dreadlocks is NOT a crime. Sagging your jeans is NOT a crime. Having tattoos and piercings is NOT a crime. The big crime is the police harassing and killing the innocent youth they are paid to protect, and nobody stopping them. “

 

These are some of the reactions:

 

 

 

 

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