Ajah shooting: Lekki residents seek implementation of #EndSARS protesters’ demands

The Lekki Estate Residents and Stakeholders Association (LERSA) has written a letter to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, over the recent killings of residents by police officers.

In the letter, LERSA called for the implementation of the demands of the #EndSARS protesters.

In October 2020, protesters under the #EndSARS movement took to the streets across the country to demand an end to police brutality.

The protests resulted in the disbandment of the special anti-robbery squad of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

The protesters had also made five demands, including the immediate release of all arrested protesters; justice for all deceased victims of police brutality; setting up of an independent body to investigate police misconduct; psychological evaluation of SARS operatives before redeployment; and salary increase for police

However, police brutality and extra-judicial killings of innocent citizens persist despite the protest.

On December 6, a police inspector attached to Ajiwe police station, Ajah allegedly shot dead Gafaru Buraimoh, a resident of Happy Land Estate in Ajah.

Drambi Vandi, an assistant superintendent of police attached to Ajiwe police station, on December 25, was involved in a shooting incident that led to the death of Bolanle Raheem, a lawyer.

‘ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT FOR POLICE OFFICERS’

LERSA, in a letter signed by Gbemi Adelekan, its secretary-general, and Olorogun Emadoye, its president, said there should be close monitoring of the activities of police officers through the use of body cameras.

“This inhumane and barbaric act by some members of the Police force is highly condemnable and it highlights the wider issue of the conduct of the officers assigned to the community for the security of lives and properties,” the association said.

“We hope that the authorities will ensure that the officers involved are prosecuted with the full weight of the law. May the soul of the departed rest in peace.

“One of the recommendations after the ENDSARS protest was the need to do psychological/psychiatric evaluation of police officers, most especially those handling firearms to ensure that they are mentally capable of discharging their statutory duties effectively.

“Another recurring recommendation is the need to ensure that on-duty police officers are not allowed to consume, much less abuse alcoholic beverages and/or other prescribed drugs/substances.

“There have also been suggestions that electronic surveillance equipment like close circuit camera, dashboard camera and indeed body-worn camera be deployed to keep the personnel of the Nigeria Police under constant monitoring and by so doing, eliminate the seemingly intractable problems of extra-judicial killings.

“Unfortunately, the failure of the authorities to implement some of these recommendations, continue to lead to the recurrence of such barbaric acts by some police officers.

“We are therefore calling on Mr. Governor as the chief security officer of the state and the inspector-general of police, to both intervene personally, to take leadership by implementing some of these recommendations to stem the tide of the rise in extra judicial killings by officers that are entrusted to protect lives in our community.”