Human rights activist, Senator Shehu Sani has appealed to the Nigerian Army not to obey any order aimed at forceful suppression of ongoing ant-police brutality protests across the nation.
He said that the army should instead focus on ridding the nation of bandits and terrorists that perpetrate killings and other atrocities on a daily basis.
Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the Eight Senate, made the appeal in a Thursday tweet.
Since last week, Nigerian youths have taken to the streets to demand an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which has now been scrapped and replaced with the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team.
The demonstrators are also seeking deeper reforms in the police force, demands the government has approved.
Despite the disbandment, the protesters have continued to throng the streets for fear that the sought reforms could be stopped halfway if the protests ceased.
There are fears that the Army could be called in to quell the protests, leading to loss of lives.
Sani’s appeal came barely two days after former President Goodluck Jonathan urged security agents not to shed blood of protesters.
The senator wrote, “The Army should not and must not intervene to crush peaceful protesters.We have enough bandits and Insurgents in our forests and deserts that needs their attention. #EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeria #EndPoliceBrutality #EndInsecurity”
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