Falana: Government introduced violence into #EndSARS protest

Falana: Government introduced violence into #EndSARS protest

Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, says the violence that
marred the #EndSARS protest of October 2020 was sponsored by the government. Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on
Tuesday, Falana said the government “unleashed” hoodlums on the peaceful
protesters. A planned nationwide protest scheduled for August 1 to 15
has been making the headlines. The protest tagged ‘#EndBadGovernance’, has evoked memories
of the nationwide anti-police brutality protests of 2020 which led to
fatalities, arson, and the torching of mass transit buses. President Bola Tinubu has asked youths to shelve the
protest. Reacting to the development, Falana said the federal
government is concerned that the proposed protest may be hijacked by hoodlums,
which will lead to violence. The lawyer said his experience with protests in Nigeria
shows that it is government that introduces the violence. Citing the EndSARS example, Falana said it was the
government that sponsored thugs and sent soldiers to disperse the protesters. “I have followed the debates, concerns and worries of the
government. The government has not denied the rights of Nigerians to protest
because it is a constitutional right,” Falana said. “What I think the government is worried about is the
possibility that violence might occur. “From my experience with protests, young people and workers
have never gone out determined to engage in violence.  “Now, people are now
distorting our history by saying ‘in 2020, young people were violent’. No! “The attack on the youths started in Alausa when a notorious
transporter sent thugs to attack unarmed protesters. The same thing happened in
Abuja, Benin, and Port Harcourt. “The government decided to unleash hoodlums and thugs on the
young people. When that did not work, the government sent troops and soldiers
to engage in the killing of young people. “In one week, about 99 people were killed in Lagos. I don’t
want to talk about Ogbomoso, Port Harcourt, Benin and other places where young
people were shot at and killed.  “The violence that
characterised the end of EndSARS protest was instigated, fuelled, and sponsored
by the government. This time around I think the government is beginning to
learn from the past.” 































































Falana asked the federal government to engage with the
leaders of the planned protest and meet their demands.

Source: Falana: Government introduced violence into #EndSARS protest

 - NigerianEye
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