Seun Fakorede, Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Oyo State on Wednesday joined the #EndSARSMemorial online.
Fakorede says although he is a politician, he would continue to be on the side of the people.
In October 2020, young people across Nigeria took to the streets calling for disbanding an abusive police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and for ending brutality in a movement tagged #EndSARS. Security forces responded with excessive force, including gunfire, which resulted in death and serious injuries.
One of the worst crackdowns was at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on October 20, 2020 when army officers arrived in about five trucks and surrounded a large group of protesters holding a peaceful sit-in. The soldiers trapped the protesters, using a tactic known as “kettling,” then fired in the air and at the crowd. Kettling is a method of confinement used by security forces to trap a crowd of people in a specific space.
After the soldiers left, police officers arrived and, according to multiple witnesses, began shooting at protesters who had not managed to flee. Witnesses described a gruesome scene with bloodied, lifeless bodies on the ground and many others with gunshot wounds whom they tried to rush to hospitals.
“We will never forget, we will never be silenced. Not today, not ever! The voice of the Nigerian Youth is strongest together — Remember their silence next time they ask for your votes.
“Yes, I’m a politician and a public servant — I’m not a coward.
“To Jimoh Isiaq and the many lives lost to this struggle, keep resting in peace, we will get justice, we will win, we shall overcome, some day.
“Amandla Awethu — Nothing Shall Discourage Us! #EndPoliceBrutality #NigeriaShallRiseAgain #SoroSoke,” Fakorede wrote on Facebook.
See Fakorede’s pictures from last year below:
