Seek justice for slain officers and reconciliation for the society
A Non Governmental Organization, Foundation for Peace Professionals also known as PeacePro has called on the media, Civil Society and the global community to rally round the Nigeria Police Force over the gruesome and inhumane killings of over 22 officers during the EndSars protest in the country.
The organization also stated that, the attitude of Nigerian government and the people has made it impossible for police to secure the country in a professional manner, arguing that justice and peace building cannot be done without giving the slain officers and their families justice.
In a statement by Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the Executive Director of PeacePro, the organization explained that, Government, Media, Civil Society and the global community must lead the charge in rallying round the police and ensuring that, just like the Endsars protesters, police officers killed during the protest must be given justice and their families given platform to seek compensation.
Recall that 22 police officers were confirmed killed by ‘rampaging protesters and over 205 police stations were reportedly damaged.
According to Hamzat, Police Officers are human beings who also have fundamental human rights and the violence suffered by them during EndSARS protest should not be swept under the carpet.
The PeacePro director explained that, for fairness to be established on #EndSARS protest and for societal reconciliation to be possible, CSO’s, Media and the global community must rise up to demand justice for police officers who are equal victim of violence and extra judicial killings.
In his words ” we must not shut our eyes to the violence suffered by police during the protest, perpetrators of the violence must not be left to go unpunished and the family of victims must be supported to get justice”
Hamzat hold that, there is need to reconcile our society based on fairness and justice, but this justice should not be enjoyed by individual citizens against the institutions or by institutions against individuals, it should be an all round justice and reconciliation for all Nigerians in such a manner that nobody is left with the impression that violence against anyone could be justified under any guise.
“Police should be made to realize that brutality against citizens will not be left unpunished, while citizens should also be made to understand that violence against police is intolerable”. He said
Speaking further, the Peace Professional explained that, victims of police brutality and even the EndSARS protests stand a chance of getting justice and compensation through the ongoing independent judicial panel of inquiry on EndSARS, but police officers who were unlawfully deprived of their God given lives during the protest have not been provided any platform to receive justice, a development he said doesn’t encourage reconciliation.
“Police cannot be made to feel unwanted in our society, their lives cannot be made to seem unimportant and perpetrators of violence cannot be made to feel that they can get away with the cruelest human rights violation against police officers”
Hamzat maintained that, police is not the enemy of Nigeria to deserve the jungle justice meted out against them, they are simply a reflection of the society, and responding accordingly, adding that police officers are from amongst us, as our parents, our friends, our colleagues and our neighbors.
He therefore called on the media, CSO’s and the global community not to diminish the tragedy that befall the police by not giving it adequate attention, noting that killing over 22 police officers amounted to massacre against police.
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