By Akinwale Kasali
Minister of State, Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, SAN, is in the eyes of a storm. He is facing unprecedented criticisms by a Group of Youths who say this is a new Keyamo they no longer recognise or understand.
Coming under the aegis of Concerned Progressives Movement, CPM, the Youths condemned unequivocally, Keyamo’s statement, allegedly, supporting the abuse, inhumane treatment, extra judicial killings, extortion and abuse of the fundamental Human Rights, meted on Nigerians by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.
The Group in a statement signed by its President and Secretary, Babatunde Aleshe and Bridget Ephraim, respectively, said it was disappointed that Keyamo could utter such statement.
“It is so sad that Keyamo could support the abuse of human rights. We all know how evil this SARS operatives are, and for Keyamo to utter such Statement shows that he doesn’t have the interest of the people at heart.
“We Condemn his action in all entirety and we are ready to hit the street if President Muhammadu Buhari rescind his decision over the scrapping of SARS. We would take the Federal Government to International Criminal Court, ICC, and also sue Keyamo.
“We expected him and his Principal to address the issue of insecyand stop giving excuses. Just on Friday Students and Staffs were kidnapped at the Federal Government College in Kebbi, and there whereabout is yet to be known. Then someone is thinking of bringing back SARS.
“When SARS wasn’t scrapped, the country wasn’t a safe place. Kidnapping was rampant, so it is appalling that Keyamo didn’t think indepthly before speaking. We expected more from him, but it is apparent that he has lost it”, the statement reads.
The position of CPM tallies with that of the Students of Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja. The students embarrassed and lashed Keyamo who said Nigerians will beg for the return of SARS, during a lecture on Friday, June 18th, 2021, at the University.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the disbandment of the notorious SARS was responsible for the worsening insecurity in the country.
It would be recalled that in October 2020, thousands of youths, across the country, hit the streets to protest against the harassment and extra-judicial killings by SARS operatives.
The protest garnered the support of several influential figures across the world, but went awry when it was hijacked by hoodlums and other aggressived groups.
A move to break it and stop the unprecedented killings torching and looting of Government facilities, private businesses and residential homes, turned awry too.
Soldiers stormed the epicenter of the Protest, the Lekki tollgate, ground in Lagos, and allegedly opened fire on the protesters in the night of October 20. Fatalities and injuries, allegedly, occurred.
The destruction across the country ran into trillions of Naira. A number of Policemen were killed and Police facilities touched.
This action and criticism forced the Police High Command to scrap SARS.
But speaking, Keyamo said : “Can anyone now say #EndOperationLifeDole? Who can end it? I’m sure Boko Haram will march into Abuja. There was a time Boko Haram entered Abuja. So that’s the challenge, to maintain that security is fully maintained.
“That was the same thing we saw between SARS and human rights then. We have seen the porosity of removing security now because we wanted human rights at all cost. We ended SARS. We now see the problem we are facing”.
Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari said the #EndSARS protest was meant to remove him from office.
