A group of human rights defenders has noted in a memorandum that several Nigerian celebrities and some international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) spread misinformation while supporting the #EndSARS protest.
Development Diaries gathered that the Global Amnesty Watch (GAW) summitted the document to the Lagos State judicial panel on the #EndSARS protest.
The memorandum was signed by Abdulmalik Alfa, Werigbelegha Zinake, Linda Etafia and Sadiq Abdullahi on behalf of International Human Rights Protection Forum (IHRPF), Centre for Human Rights Advancement in Nigeria (CHRAN), Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN) and Make Nigeria Better Initiative (MNBI) respectively.
Protests, with hashtag #EndSARS, were triggered by the killing of a young man by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos on 03 October.
The police unit, which has been disbanded by the Nigerian government, had long been accused of harassment, unlawful arrests, torture and killings.
‘It is instructive to state that the EndSARS protest was funded from a well-concealed network that raised over N75 Million from donations from individuals in Nigerian and outside the shores of the country through a group called The Feminist Coalition’, the memorandum read.
According to the group, these individuals and other international NGOs must be punished for disseminating misinformation, which led to violence.
Thugs were reported to have taken advantage of the protest, with police accusing people ‘posing’ as protesters of looting weapons, and torching police buildings.
‘We state in unequivocal terms that the continuation of the protest that eventually led to the escalation of violence was indeed premeditated and most likely sponsored with the ultimate aim of causing anarchy in Nigeria’, the group added.
‘It is instructive to note that some group of individuals undermined the peace initiatives introduced by the [federal] government towards finding a lasting solution by the continuous instigation of youths through the social media platforms’.
The group urged the panel to compensate victims and prosecute instigators of violence.
Source: Global Amnesty Watch
Photo source: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP
