“You Are The Father Of Protests, Free Endsars Prisoners,” Shehu Sani Tells Tinubu

Shehu Sani, a former senator has pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pardon prisoners of the Endsars protest.

The former lawmaker spoke on Wednesday in Abuja, the nation’s capital at a dinner organised by the federal government to mark Democracy Day.

Present at the event were President Tinubu and other top government officials.

On October 8, 2020, many youths across the country trooped to the streets to protest police brutality, calling for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, a special unit of the Nigerian Police Force, NPF known for its human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings.

While some of the protesters were believed to have been killed, others sustained various degree of injuries, for instance, in Lagos where the military, in their quest to disperse the protesters, allegedly shot at the young protesters.

Many youths who took part in the protests are still being detained by the police, according to those familiar with the issue.

Speaking yesterday, Senator Sani described the protesters as heroes of freedom and democracy, stressing that they didn’t do anything wrong by fighting for their rights.

According to him, the young protesters learned from Tinubu who Sani described as the “father of protest” in Nigeria.

Sani said: “Mr president there are some people who are still in prison as a result of the Endsars protest. They are young people who are protesting injustice, freedom and champions.

“Any young protesters in Nigeria leaned from you, because you are the father of protest in Nigeria, Do something about it, give them the freedom, you taught us, you funded us to stand up and fight. They are your children and grandchildren, please do something about it.”