There is tension in Ado Ekiti, the state capital on Tuesday morning as hoodlums with pump action guns are now on the streets of Ado Ekiti, shooting indiscriminately to prevent the nationwide protest against the Special Anti Robbery Squad tagged #EndSARS.
Protests began across the country last week as politicians, singers, activists and other Nigerians called for the total disbandment of the notorious police unit.
The protest also trended on social media, drawing support from prominent individuals and groups across the globe.
The protest to #EndSARS started in Ekiti on Friday with the youths converging at Fajuyi Pavilion, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
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Anaedoonline.ng had earlier reported on Monday that the youths took over every section of Ado Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State in protest.
Virtually, all the strategic roads in the metropolis were blocked by the youths, comprising students, Okada riders, commercial drivers, civil society bodies and other unemployed individuals.
Majorly affected are the Fajuyi Park, Okeyinmi, Ijigbo , Basiri, Matthew area, Ajilosun , among others.
Students in public and private schools, who had earlier resumed schools, were hurriedly asked to return home to prevent being caught in the web.
Civil servants, who were on their way to work were stranded on the way while some of them were seen returning home in frustration.
The protesters who flaunted the Nigerian flag sang all manner of songs to mock the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
As they marched from one point to the other, they also sang the Nigerian and Ekiti Anthems, querying the rationale behind the lopsidedness in the distribution of the nation’s wealth.
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They mounted barricades and forced commuters to trek several meters or kilometers before getting to their respective destinations.
One of them, who identified himself as Joseph Dada addressed newsmen at Fajuyi area and attributed the protests across the nation to lackluster and inept dispositions of the Buhari-led government.
He said: ”Enough is enough. How can SARS be killing people all over the place? How can a bag of rice be sold for N40,000? How can a governor buy the votes to win reelection even when he has not done anything to justify his re-election?
“See how our youths are being killed everyday. No job, no food, no house to live. We are all suffering, and we are saying these must stop.
“Petrol is now sold for N160 per litre and the electricity tariff has gone up. We are now forced to pay higher tariff for total darkness. This is callous and it must stop”.
The protests started in Ado Ekiti last week with the most dangerous event witnessed on Friday when the protesters besieged the House of Assembly to disrupt the state of the state address being presented by Governor Kayode Fayemi to mark his second year in office.
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The protesters became unruly and it took the intervention of the police who whisked the governor out of the assembly complex unhurt.
Reporters also gathered that another protest is ongoing at the state capital, Ikere-Ekiti and Oye- Ekiti with all roads blocked.
Hundreds of youth in Ikere- Ekiti, the second largest city of the state, joined the campaign against the excesses of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the police squad known for its human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings.
As of Monday afternoon, the protesters have blocked the Ikere-Ekiti road leading to Ado Ekiti and Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Speaking to one of the protesters, Adegbesan Femi, he said he joined the protest to demand for freedom because they are being oppressed.
“We are here today to demand freedom from our people, because we are being oppressed by different sections from the government. From the politicians and military men most especially from the SARS, they oppress us a lot”.
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In Oye – Ekiti, the protesters have blocked the popular road leading to Kogi and Abuja.
The protesters are chanting End SARS, while also demanding justice for the two students that were allegedly slain last year by the security detail attached to Ekiti Governor’s wife, Bisi Fayemi.
One of the protesters, Ojo Isaac aka Ijoba Demo, he said he joined the protest to demand for freedom because they are being oppressed.
“We are here today to demand freedom from our people, because we are being oppressed by different sections from the government. From the politicians and military men most especially from the SARS, they oppress us a lot, for instance we had a peaceful protest last year September 10, which was turned into bloody by the Nigerian Police Force. They killed two of our student.
“This is becoming very unbecoming and we can’t continue to accept that, we are the voice, we are students and we are the future of this generation. If they continue to kill us one by one, what will become of the county in the future.
“We use this peaceful protest to call the attention of the president, top politicians in this country to demand freedom for us and deliver us from this oppression,” he added.
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A supporter of the protests, Jide-David Modede, said the country needs a voice to speak for the youth.
“I am from Oye Ekiti and I am a bona-fide Nigerian. I am here to support what the youths are saying because I think the country needs a voice right now and the greatest voice they can get right now is the voice of the youth. The youth of this nation have been silent for too long, youth is not just about young people, it’s about the fact that people that are actually to be part of the development in the country have been silent for a long time. Now this is the time for people to speak up because the state of our nation is in a critical situation right now.
“Just like our president is saying End SARS is only the beginning, the same way End SARS is only the beginning of what we are asking for as citizens of this nation and what the youths are asking for. They are only asking End SARS as a beginning, there are many that are wrong the government needs to consider right now and it’s time for the government to give attention.
“They will need to invite youths, citizens of the country, invite people who are not politicians into a table and let them discuss not only end police brutality, the state of our economy, the irresponsible salaries that are being paid to legislators in this country. Once people are suffering the masses are suffering, it is time for us to speak us and let them know what is happening.”
Nigerians across the globe have taken to streets and social media since last week to protest against the highhandedness of the rogue Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) of the police force.
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There have been protests in Lagos, Abuja, Anambra, Abia, Ibadan, Kwara , Ebonyi, Ibadan and other states across Nigeria.
The police unit was dissolved last week Sunday but protesters have continued to demand for reform of the Nigeria Police to end extrajudicial killings by police officers.
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