#EndSARS protesters on Saturday took their protest to the Force Headquarters, Abuja insisting that police brutality must end just as the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) must be scrapped.
They also insisted they would not leave the police headquarters without hearing from the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
The protesters, have been on the streets of Abuja and other states of the country for the last three days, pressing home their demand for an end to SARS.
Some of the protesters who spoke to The Next Edition on Saturday, said that SARS operatives been going overboard with their actions, insisted such must end now.
Esther Uwem, one of the protesters told our correspondent; “This is about EndSars protest, they have been going overboard with their actions and attitude.
They barge into peoples houses without permission.
“I have three brothers and I feel like none of them is safe. For example, when one is holding an iPhone the SARS officers accuse you of being a yahoo boy.”
Asked if the SARS brutality is gender issues that is, affecting only young boys, she said;
“It is not about gender, it is about the wrong things they are doing. If a photographer is holding an iPhone SARS officials label him a yahoo boy or a guy keeping dreadlocks. We are tired, we don’t want them anymore.”
Another protesters, Basil Abia, said; “The EndSars movement is a group of young Nigerians coming out together to kick against the violence and extortion, oppression caused by a unit of the Nigerian Police Force, we all know SARS was founded in the year 1992 to protect against kidnapping and robbery but that is not the case.
“They target and extort from young Nigerians who are looking fancy with certain gadgets.This is a problem that affects all spheres of young Nigerians, particularly in the southern part of Nigeria, regardless we are all here with one voice against the oppression because it affects every single one.
We have had some Police Officials come over to calm us down, No one is going to leave here without us hearing from the Inspector General Of Police. We need to be consistent with one voice and most importantly that SARS is scraped completely.”
A photograph who gave his name simply as Chris shared an ugly encounter in the hands of SARS operatives with The Next Edition.
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“My name is Chris, I am a photographer. I’m based in Abuja. On Sunday, I was heading home from work, I don’t have a studio I go to locations to shoot. Heading towards Airport road, SARS officials blocked the cab I was in and said “fraudster how can I afford to look Good?” They called me “Yahoo boy.”
“I told them I’m not a yahoo boy. I said you have searched my bag, you found a camera and a Laptop, how does carrying a Laptop and camera make me a criminal? They said that I should follow them to their office, there were four of them and they carried guns.
One of the officer slapped me three times, I had to empty my account for them with fifty thousand Naira.”
Asked if he transferred the money to an account, he said the no adding that the officers used POS
The #EndSARS protests have been going across several states in the country with no sign of letting up.
