BEVERLY HILLS, October 21, (THEWILL) – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to restrain the military and other armed forces from using brute force to resolve the civil disobedience, unrest and destruction of properties in Lagos and some other parts of the country.
Obasanjo in a statement in a statement titled, ‘Statement on Violence Against Protesters In Nigeria: An Appeal for Calm’, said killing protesters and rioters would escalate the crisis and make dialogue impossible.
“The shooting and murder of unarmed protesters, no matter the level of provocation, has never been effective in suppressing public anger and frustration. Instead, such actions only reinforce the anger and frustration of the populace and close the window of dialogue and peaceful resolution.
“It is clear that Mr President and his lieutenants did not exhaust the opportunities for dialogue with the protesters before resorting to the use of force,” he said.
“It is worse that there is a denial of wrongdoing in spite of overwhelming visual evidence. Great harm has been done but it can be stopped before it completely spirals out of control.
“We are at a critical moment in this crisis and the President must act now before it is too late. This time demands leadership and mature leadership at such.”
The former President noted that the demands of the #EndSARS protesters which centered on police reforms were realistic and could be easily fulfilled.
“It is imperative that leaders at all levels, starting with Mr President, must demonstrate meekness, humanity and sincerity in meeting the legitimate demands of the protesters and ensuring that justice is served where it must be served. These are the potent ways of ending this crisis now.”
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He urged youths to stop the destruction and looting and give peace a chance.
“The youth must give peace a chance while making their legitimate demands. They must be mindful of miscreants who will infiltrate their ranks and give the protests a bad name so that trigger-happy forces will kill them.
“The destruction and looting of public and private properties will only hurt all of us and set us back.”
President Obasanjo Speaks on The #LekkiMassacre of Peaceful and Unarmed #EndSARS
Protesters pic.twitter.com/lPN2rXbktA
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) October 21, 2020
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