The EndSARS uprising would not have seen the light of the
day if Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s handling of the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (SARS) was not derailed, a group endorsing the VP for the 2023 presidency
has said.
The group, known as IdentifytheRightLeader, recently
published a 120-page impact assessment report on the vice-president, detailing
his activities as former acting president of Nigeria and former attorney
general of Lagos state.
According to the report, the EndSARS protests which swept
through the nation in October 2020 would not have happened if Osinbajo’s plan
to overhaul SARS did not die down when President Buhari returned to the
country.
“The EndSars uprising would not have seen the light of the
day if issues concerning human rights abuses from the SARS (Special
Anti-Robbery Squad) unit of the Nigerian Police Force had not been handled with
kids’ gloves,” the group said.
“In October 2018, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as Acting
President, had ordered the overhaul of the controversial police unit following
allegations of human rights violations, as he had directed then Inspector
General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to review the operations of the SARS.
“However, the clamour died down when the substantive
President, Muhammadu Buhari, re-assumed duties after a temporary absence. The
SARS unit continued with their highhandedness and human rights violations as a
result of this seeming dissonance in bureaucracy, which for some Nigerians
represented a lack of empathy for the Nigerian populace.”
OSINBAJO’S AMBITION
NOT PERSONAL
The group said Osinbajo was one Nigerian leader who in the
darkest days of the protest “apologized to Nigerians, saying, ‘We are sorry'”.
They added that Osinbajo’s stance “could have averted the
bloodbath that occurred on the 20th of October 2020” if adopted by “our
political elites”.
“Nigeria’s Vice President, matched words with action when he
absorbed the EndSars uprising as an economic issue to be addressed under the
National Economic Council (NEC), which he chairs,” the report added.
Osinbajo-led NEC “mobilized the Governors of all 36 States
and the FCT to set up judicial panels to address human rights abuses that were
perpetuated against Nigerians and ensure justice for all victims of the
dissolved SARS and other police units”.
“One thing is clear: throughout his public service career,
Prof Osinbajo has sought to identify current and impending problems in society
and propose solutions to them by way of public policy.
“In spite of having
to navigate through the labyrinth of politics and government, Osinbajo has
always made the impact of his proposed policies his focal point.
“Throughout his public service life, whether as a lecturer,
attorney general, vice president, or acting president, Prof. Osinbajo has
demonstrated uncommon virtues, morals, and dedication to the Nigerian State.
“His ambitions are not personal, rather they are for the
common good.”
The report went on to chronicle Osinbajo’s years in public
service and what it [the group] considered to be the achievements of the
professor of law.
The vice-president has is yet to formally declare his
interest in the office of the president.
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