NBA CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO ATTACKS, DEATHS DURING ENDSARS PROTESTS IN OSUN

The Nigerian Bar Association, Osogbo Branch has called for thorough investigation into last Saturday attack on Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola and Thursday attack on protesters in Osogbo, the State capital.

Worried by the negative turn of events in the country in the last one week, the association identified the need to acknowledge that the protests were aimed at achieving more than an end to the police brutality (#ENDSARS protests).

A release signed by the Legal Adviser of the branch, the association commends the government’s imposition of 24-hour curfew across the the state describing it a a welcome measure in the current circumstances.

It however urges the government to constitute a Panel of Inquiry with the mandate as directed by the federal government to investigate police brutality and the fallout of #EndSARS protests.

According to the release, the NBA calls for investigation into causes of the invasion and looting of the Osun Mall as well as the death of two young men in Osogbo on Saturday the 17th of October, 2020 and identify the perpetrators.

Among other demands, its also wants the panel to identify the young men bearing arms and other dangerous weapons at different locations in Osogbo during the protest hours, as shown in the videos that have since gone viral on the internet;

“As a body of professionals whose motto is the promotion of the Rule of Law, we shall remain committed to supporting all efforts that are nobly geared towards the attainment of an orderly and prosperous Nigeria where peace and justice will be enthroned” the NBA stated.

“It requires no introduction that the general culture of official impunity that gave birth to the recent protests christened ‘ENDSARS’ was unacceptable in a democratic society. It is recalled that before Nigerians decided to troop to the streets to stage protests against the police brutalities, a section of the Nigeria Police named the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), had become a ruthless law unto itself, with a litany of extrajudicial killings of Nigerians hanging on its neck across the country”.

“It is pertinent to acknowledge that the protests were laudably aimed at achieving more than an end to the police brutality. ENDSARS protests, we understand, were targeted at demanding a general reform of all sectors of the country, by calling the government’s attention to the general rot that has eaten deep into the fabric of our national life. It is however saddening seeing the violent dimensions which the protests later took”.

“It is disheartening that a noble agitation that had raised an unprecedented hope of birthing an orderly country is now under an avoidable threat of inconclusiveness and premature termination. While we mourn all the dead and commiserate with their families, we solemnly call on all Nigerians of good conscience to remain steadfast in the collective call for a reformed Nigeria that we can all proudly call ours”.

“As a Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, we are aware of the statement issued by the President of the Bar, Mr. Olumide Akpata, particularly as it concerns the gory development of the last 24hours in Lagos State. We identify with the statement and will continue to monitor the situation” the branch stated.