The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has thrown its weight behind calls for an end to police brutality, while asking for erring officers to be brought to justice as well as compensation to be paid to victims and their families.
It lamented that the Force under President Muhammadu Buhari had failed to shed the brutal character it exhibited under the repressive regime of the Late General Sani Abacha, and revealed plans to demand compensation after compiling the “victims list” of OPC members killed and maimed by police and other security agents in the last 26 years.
Rising from an emergency meeting yesterday Tuesday at the Century Hotel owned by its late Founder and President, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, in Okota-Isolo area of Lagos, OPC declared, “Enough is enough to police brutality. We are joining our voices to those of the teeming number of Nigerians who can no longer stomach a situation where their protectors have turned into their predators.”
A statement, signed by the Late Dr. Fasehun’s Deputy President, Otunba Wasiu Afolabi (alias “Askari”), said, the era of police impunity and brutality must stop and this would only happen when erring officers felt the full wrath of the law for their crimes.
“In the past 26 years, OPC members have been tragic victims in the frontline of police brutality,” Afolabi said. “And our organisation has only shown excessive self-restraint in such provocative and tragic incidents because Dr. Fasehun was a peace-loving citizen and we wanted to avoid disturbing the public peace in a South-West zone whose interest we swore to protect.”
OPC noted that bad cops had spoilt the good ones in the rank and file and time had come for the police to ensure that offenders amongst them did not go unpunished.
Expressing support for the ongoing nationwide “ENDSARS” demonstrations, the socio-cultural organisation, however, enjoined participants to remain peaceful in exercising their Freedom of Expression.
“Unfortunately, instead of the police to see these citizens’ demonstrations as an opportunity to exhibit civility and repentance, the uniformed men have once again embarked on killing peaceful and unarmed demonstrators,” Afolabi said. “We hope these unprovoked killings are not signs that the leopard will not change its spots as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector-General of Police.”
The group revealed it intended to compile a list of members slain by police, the Army and other security agencies since its inception in 1994, with a view to demanding due compensation to the group and affected families.
“OPC shall be sending its own victims list to the IGP, Amnesty International and other Human Rights bodies, as well as the Yoruba South-West governors of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Edo, Kwara and Kogi,” Afolabi said.
According to him, since OPC’s formation by Fasehun in 1994, the group had lost thousands of members during demonstrations for the revalidation of the June 12 election won by Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Abiola and annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1993.
“Several OPC members were randomly killed by the Nigerian State and its satanic agents, some on the streets, some in detention and some during police raiding of otherwise peaceful meetings of our group,” Afolabi said.
OPC urged the police authorities to embark on a massive retraining programme of their men to make them honour Nigerians’ constitutionally-guaranteed Human Rights, including the: Right to Life, Right to Personal Liberty, Right to Fair-Hearing, Right to Peaceful Assembly, Right to Association and Right to Freedom of Movement.
