The Nigerian government will not end police brutality against Nigerians because the government is benefitting from keeping the people in fear.
The assertion above was made by Rinu Oduala, an advocate to the ongoing #EndSARS campaign in a television interview on Wednesday in which she said the government of the day lacks the Political will to end police brutality.
Speaking on the #EndSARS Memorial anniversary protest, Oduala said the government lacks external accountability mechanism in handling the issues surrounding police brutality.
“I say with all confidence that I do not think that the Nigerian Government possesses the political will to end police brutality because they benefit from our indignity; they lack proactive action, political will, and implementation of policies”, she said.
Oduala posited that despite the protests held last year and actions taken by the government, the police officers have yet to stop extorting innocent citizens.
She said, “From October last year till now, are police officers still not extorting Nigerian citizens, harassing them. Just in September, from reports that I know of, over 10 young Nigerians were killed extra-judicially by police officers across Nigeria.
“We should ask our policymakers if they are focused on ending police brutality? From the panels, are we paying victims no matter how small the amount is for the injustice meted to them and letting the criminals who got them to this situation get a pat on the back, or are we making sure that we set systems that ensure that cases of police brutality reduce drastically?”
The advocate spoke on her experience as a member of the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters, stating that most of the victims who came to the panel just wanted the public to know that they were victims of police brutality.
“Nigerians that were at the panel just wanted the world, the public to know that they were also victims of police brutality, and it’s not just a myth.
“Some of these people have been given an opportunity to air their complaints and anger to the world; it shows that we are doing something right.
“As a member of the panel, the number of cases I have seen shows we are winning something. A year after, the five-for-five demands are still yet to be met.
“Some protesters who were put in prison are still there, what are the police afraid of? These protesters were charged for frivolous things.”