Two Lagos-based human rights activists – Dabiraoluwa Oni-Ayoku and Ifeanyi Okoye – have blamed the government of Muhammadu Buhari for the violence that trailed the 2020 #EndSARS protests in some parts of the country.
They argued that if the then government had not deployed security operatives, including soldiers in the streets, the protesters would have remained peaceful, reports The Nation.
Oni-Ayoku and Okoye stated that there was a need for Buhari and his then Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai to answer questions on why they decided to use coercion against protesting youths and why the South was the most hit by the protests.
The duo, who spoke at different fora in Lagos, absolved the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government of any complicity in the casualties and destruction recorded in the state during the protests.
Oni-Ayoku said: “I would be very honest and this is a constructive explanation from my end. First and foremost, there was an administration in power at that time and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was the head of that administration.
“I know for sure that no country’s military acts without the approval of the number one citizen, in person of the president, so the number one and only person that should be held responsible for the #EndSARS incident which continues to resonate amongst Nigerian youths and has become a stigma, is no one else but the ex-president.”
But Oni-Ayoku, who is also an entrepreneur and construction expert, wants the state government to implement the recommendations in the Whitepaper of the committee that investigated the protests.”
“We are not saying we want to hold Sanwo-Olu responsible, but what we are saying is that there should be an implementation of the Whitepaper document. Even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration can re-write the story of #EndSARS to give hope to the Nigerian youth and that is because they (youths) matter.”
On his part, Okoye called for Buratai’s trial for the role of the Army which was then under his leadership.
His words: “Many people talk and say Governor Sanwo-Olu should not be exonerated but I, Ifeanyi Okoye, can categorically say that the governor was never in charge of the security apparatus.
“We still run a federal police system and central military system with the C-in-C as the president, and the president is answerable for whatever transpired during that #EndSARS protests.
“I exonerate Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was the governor then and current governor of Lagos State. We all saw the efforts he made to ensure that the demands of the protesters were met by meeting the president several times.
“Nigeria is a country where the citizenry needs to be on their toes to get what they want but sadly, the military struck, obviously, on the orders of the then C-inC.
“The former president should be asked to give an account because he was C-in-C and the actions of the military were carried out on his instructions. Same with the then Chief of Army Staff Buratai.”
Okoye however noted that the #EndSARS protests and their outcomes re-awakened the political consciousness of the Nigerian youth.
He added: “EndSARS remains a sad one and it’s something that has awakened the political consciousness as regards the quest for good governance and demanding accountability from our leaders in terms of creating and implementing workable policies.
“I would gladly say that the outcomes of EndSARS brought about the sub-consciousness of young people. The reality is that the outcomes of EndSARS were not what we bargained for and this was evident in the last elections.
“The movement created a sub-conscious political awareness in young people but as much as that, many young people are disappointed with the process. It’s not yet Uhuru, it’s a time to build on the gains of the last election and build the momentum.”
