No fewer than 69 people have been killed in the #EndSARS protests igniting the country, President Muhammadu Buhari said.
Speaking at Friday’s virtual meeting, Buhari through his spokesperson, Femi Adesina said 51 civilians, 11 police officers and seven soldiers had been killed in the unrest.
A statement by Adesina at the end of the meeting also quoted Buhari as saying it is unfortunate that the “initial genuine and well-intended protest of youths was hijacked and misdirected”.
According to it, the president said despite accepting the demands of the protesters, they refused to call off the strike.
”Unfortunately, the protesters refused to call off the protest and engage the government to address their grievances. Instead, they became emboldened and gradually turned violent,” Buhari was quoted to have said.
Buhari maintained that the federal government will not fold its arms and allow “miscreants and criminals continue to perpetrate acts of hooliganism in the country”.
”We shall also continue to ensure that liberty and freedom, as well as the fundamental rights of all citizens are protected. Here, I want to also reaffirm our commitment to preserving the unity of this country,” the statement read.
“The President thanked the former Heads of State for attending the meeting and their invaluable comments, observations and advice, adding that ‘Nigerians expect nothing less from responsible statesmen’.
“Each of the former leaders commended President Buhari for steps taken so far to restore calm and order to the country and also applauded the presidential broadcast of Thursday as detailed and soothing to the country.
“The former heads of state were unanimous in their view that generation of employment and growing the economy including through direct foreign investments were critical to checking youth restiveness.
The protests have drastically subsided but an uneasy calm remains in several cities.
Officials said a curfew introduced in Lagos state has been eased.
The protests in Nigeria began on October 7 with mostly young people demanding the scrapping of a notorious police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The unit was dissolved days later, but the protests continued, demanding broader reforms in the way Nigeria is governed.
They escalated after a shooting in the nation’s biggest city, Lagos, on Tuesday, when rights group Amnesty International says security forces killed at least 12 people. Nigeria’s army has denied any involvement.
But, Nigerian DJ, DJ Switch who played a role in saving the lives of many present at the Lekki tollgate when security agents opened fire on End SARS protesters on Tuesday, October 20.
“We counted 15 bodies,” she broke her silence, though Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu initially admitted that there was no fatality only to make a U-turn that one person died.
