Miyetti Allah breaks silence on #EndSARS protests

National Secretary, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Mr Saleh Alhassan

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The Miyetti Allah association has appealed to the #EndSARS protesters to suspend the protest and wait for the Federal Government to implement their demands.

Malam Bello Abdullahi, the National President made the appeal at a news conference in Abuja on Monday.

He said that it was unacceptable for the protesters to resort to blocking of roads, thereby denying other citizens the right to use the roads.

According to him, this is an attempt to ground the country and create more suffering in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic.

“For weeks now citizens, especially our youths have taken to the streets to demand an end to SARS/Police brutality and also requesting for a reform of the Nigerian Police Force.

” Thankfully, these demands have been received by the Federal Government, which has ordered arrest and persecution of those police officers involved in extra-judicial killings of citizens.

” And since the Federal Government has heard and accepted the issues raised by the protesters, it is only wise for the protesters to stop as government needs time to implement their demands.

” The protests have yielded the desired results with the government accepting their genuine demands and working to address all of them.”

Abdullai said that for the first time, Nigerian citizens came out to demand justice in which the government responded positively.

”The insistence to continue to protest even when the government has made concessions is wrong. The open defiance is reckless, provocative. Denial of access to means of livelihood can lead to fracas and conflict.

“The demands of the protesters are nebulous, inconsistent, haphazard, whimsical, and impossible to meet,” he said.

The Miyetti Allah leader commended the maturity and professionalism of the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, in spite of the violent nature of the protesters.

The IGP’s consistent warning to police officers and their commander against the use of force on protesters is indeed commendable and has clearly shown that police reform is already taking place.

‘While, it is citizens fundamental rights of freedoms of expression, assembly and movement, Miyetti Allah is again alerting the public, that desperate politicians have hijacked the protest for a personal selfish reason.

‘This must not be allowed to continue,” Abdullahi said

NAN