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  • News - South West
  • Updated: October 15, 2020

Buhari Responds To Buratai's Request To Deploy Soldiers For #EndSARS Protest

Buhari Responds To Buratai's Request To Deploy Soldiers For

President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected a request from the Nigerian Army led by Tukur Yusuf Buratai to quell the ongoing #EndSARS protests with soldiers, on the account that such an approach could backfire.

Buhari said heavily armed soldiers with a directive to open fire should be the last resort if at all they’ll be considered because of the spontaneous and elaborate nature of the ongoing pushback against decades of police brutality, according to the presidency and two military sources briefed on the matter Wednesday night.

According to The People’s Gazette Buratai and some of his generals are increasingly furious that #EndSARS protesters have refused to stand down. He sought the president’s permission to deploy soldiers to disperse protesters and take over demonstration grounds in Lagos and Abuja, a senior administration official said.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Police Officers Are Trained Like Colonial Policemen - Falana

The official said Buhari fears that the protests could grow bigger if any attempt is made to use soldiers to violently suppress it.

“The president is wary of escalating the situation,” our source said. “He does not want this to backfire because there are many locations that protests are holding across the country.”

Chief of staff Ibrahim Gambari was amongst those who advised the president against troops' deployment. National security adviser Babagana Monguno did not take part in the meeting but a source said he would be briefed.

AllNews recalls that on Sunday, police chief Mohammed Adamu announced the immediate abolition of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a police unit whose ruthlessness sparked the ongoing agitation with hashtag #EndSARS. He also announced a new unit called Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) would replace the defunct brutal squad.

#EndSARS Protest May Not Be Over As Nigerians Reject SWAT

The announcement of the new Police Unit, SWAT did not augur well with many Nigerians as they began with a trend clamoring for the #EndSWAT, further sparking concerns that the #EndSARS protests may well continue.

Protesters also declined to end the campaign until at least five fundamental issues that border on citizens’ rights and restitution of thousands of SARS victims.

READ ALSO: #ENDSARS: Meluibe Foundation Lauds Nigerian Youth, Calls For Holistic Police Reform

But top government and security appointees of the president are seething and “now itching” to do something immediately.

Their desperation followed the advice that they have given the president over the past week; including some without any form of law enforcement intervention.

A military source said the president and his key insiders are reluctant to take a straight position because they are still learning to understand the main actors of the protests.

“The president may still be asking for time to better understand the protesters first,” a military brass-hat told the Gazette. “But the president recognizes that these categories of protesters are not the same as members of the Shiite sect.”

Meanwhile, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has revealed that the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) which has been replaced with the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) are the same, claimed SWAT has been in existence since 2018

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