Alfred Martins, Catholic archbishop of Lagos, has asked the
federal government not to deploy soldiers to crack down on #EndSARS protesters
across the country.
Protesters have been on the streets in the last one week,
demanding better governance.
The protesters called on the authorities to scrap the
special anti-robbery squad (SARS) over reports of harassment and brutality.
However, despite the disbanding of SARS, the protests have
continued across the country with the youth insisting on total reform of the
police.
On Thursday, the army pledged loyalty to President Muhammadu
Buhari, vowing to defend democracy “at all cost”.
Reacting in a statement, Martins said the deployment of
soldiers in protest grounds will lead to injuries and deaths, as well as
escalate tension.
“Such a measure, if adopted, can only lead to injuries and
possible deaths, and an escalation of the protests. It has the tendency of
turning the largely peaceful protests into a violent one,” he said.
“We therefore urge the federal government to toe the line of
engagement in dialogue, listening to the demands of the youth and other
well-meaning Nigerians.
“We commend the government for acceding to the demands of
the youth. Now, the whole country looks forward to practical steps that would
be taken to implement them.
“We believe that a sincere and transparent response to the
demands of the young people would go a long way in resolving the present
impasse.”
He called on those protesting to ensure their activities are
done peacefully and to avoid engaging in violence, as “the whole world is
watching us to see how we handle this situation.”
On Saturday, the army announced that “Operation Crocodile
Smile” will take off across the country from Tuesday.
Many have described this as an attempt to clamp down on
protesters.
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