#EndSARS Protest Hijacked: Centre Call For Proper Screening Of Suspects
Police authority in the country has been called upon to conduct diligent and thorough screening of those arrested during the recent #EndSARS protest across the country.
The advice was given by the Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights (CHSR) in a statement issued by its National President, Comrade Alex Omotehinse.
The Centre’s president stated that the call is of utmost important so as separate the innocents from those who engaged in illegal acts, which led to looting, maiming and burning of public properties by some hoodlums and miscreant that cart away goods worth millions of Naira.
The Omotehinse’s group said its office has been undaunted with reports some of those arrested, were picked up where there was no crisis.
The Centre’s statement reads in part: “the Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights (CHSR) attention has been drawing to the arrest of some Nigerians in connection to the anarchism that befall the country after the shooting of the #EndSARS protesters, which resulted to looting, maiming and burning of public properties by some hoodlums and miscreant that cart away goods worth millions of naira.
“We wants to use this medium in appealing to the police Authority’s in Lagos State, i.e the Compol Lagos Command and the AIG zone 2 to please ensure there shouldn’t be no any transfer of aggression in screening the acclaimed over 200 suspect arrested so far, as its obvious that some innocents must fell a victim of circumstances.
“The CHSR has been receiving complaint since Saturday, from some victims’ relatives that their children were arrested in some areas where there is no crises and they were joined together with those picked from scene of incident, but we don’t want to believe this to be true.
“CHSR as a reputable rights group, we are in full support of the police to bring all the evil perpetrators to book. We are also appealing that a due diligent and unbiased screening should be conducted for the arrested suspect before prosecution. The reports reaching us was that some families have been denied access to their children since Friday, due to the nature of the case.
“We are appealing to the Police authority, to ensure that, even if it is only five (5) people are found culpable out of the over 200 suspects arrested, they should be made to face the wrath of the law rather than to prosecute all of them because some police stations and officers were burnt and killed in the fracas.
“The law says: ‘it is better for 99 accused to escape than to convict only one innocent”.
