OYOGist.com has learned that the National Vice-chairman chairman of Police Community Relations Committee, Alh. Ibrahim Olaniyan has insisted that 80 per cent of the people agitating for the eradication of the Special Anti-Robbery Squads are criminals.
Olaniyan who double as the southwest chairman of PCRC noted that many of the protesters on the #EndSARS campaign are either cultists, robbers or internet fraudsters.
The PCRC southwest chairman said this on Saturday while speaking with newsmen shortly after meeting with the southwest leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students.
Olaniyan explained that many of the protesters have court cases which they believed will be dropped if government end the operation of the tactical unit.
He said, “I invited all the national leaders of NANS across the southwest, I invited them to dialogue with them not to go about the way other people are going because 80 per cent of those people that are agitating, rioting, damaging the federal government properties, attacking the Nigeria Police, 80 per cent of them are criminals.”
“Many of them are cultists, yahoo boys, those people that have one or two things to do with the force. Even many of them have cases in court, so, their thinking is if they scrap SARS, they next thing is that all the charges against them will be dropped.”
Speaking on the essence of the meeting, Olaniyan explained that the students leaders wete invited to deliberate on how to go about a peaceful protest in demanding for the reformation of SARS.
He said the PCRC will form a consultative forumn where stakeholders which include the youth, Police, will meet monthly to check and assist the Inspector General of Police in implementing the 10 points reform agenda.
He added, “this is our way of contributing to help the Nigeria Police and to mediate in our role as the leader of police and community, so, I convey this meeting with the directive of the National Chairman.”
“What we do is to try to reach out to the genuine leaders of the youth, the NANS. We are doing this across the six geopolitical zones with the support of the force PRO, Frank Mbah, he delegated the force deputy PRO to work with us.”
“It is true SARS need serious reform, though, in fairness, this national generally need serious reform, but let’s start from the Nigeria Police, SARS to be precise.
“I have directive to all my state chairmen to engage all the stakeholders. We are going to form a consultative forumn where we have our youths, the PPRO, the CP, the leaders of PCRC and head of all these tactical groups where we are going to meet with them monthly to check and assist the Inspector General of Police in implementing his 10 points reform agenda.”
“We are not just going to sit down somewhere, we are going to monitor what the IGP want, we are going to work with all these tactical sections of the Nigeria Police and this time around, I can assure everybody we are going to get it right.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy Cordinator for NANS, southwest zone, Comrade Oladimeji Uthman disown some students embarking on protest against the alleged police brutality.
Uthman explained that the southwest body of NANS has not given any directive for protest against the police brutality.
He said, “we are here with the southwest leadership of PCRC headed by Alhaji Ibrahim Olaniyan. We are here to discuss on way forward on police brutality and even the campaign which has been trending in our society which the student populace and even the youth want SARS to be ended.
“As leadership of NANS, southwest zone, some days ago we had our virtual meeting with all our students union presidents in a southwest and also the southwest leadership and presently we haven’t plan for any protest through out the southwest as far as NANS, southwest zone is concerned about the police brutality and end SARS campaign. Although, we have organised some online campaign and we also be agitating for the reforming of SARS not to end SARS. NANS, southwest zone knows nothing about any protest from students because we have not done any of such so far.”
Also present at the meeting include the chairman of coalition of society groups in Ogun state, Yinka Folarin, and the epresentatives of Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Lagos and Ogun states.
