‘#EndSARS protesters in detention’: ‘We have forgiven ourselves and moved on,’ Police reply Shehu Sani

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has denied allegations that some #EndSARS protesters are still held in its detention facilities.

In a statement on Sunday, Muyiwa Adejobi, force spokesperson, said “nobody is being wrongly persecuted for participating in the EndSARS protest”.

In October 2020, many Nigerian youths protested in many parts of the country against the excesses of the now-disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS) unit of the police.

At the peak of the protests, some state governments declared a curfew to prevent a breakdown of law and order, while many protesters were arrested in cities such as Lagos, Rivers, and Ibadan.

Speaking at a dinner organised to mark 2024 Democracy Day on June 12, Shehu Sani, a former senator representing Kaduna central, asked President Bola Tinubu to pardon #EndSARS protesters who are still in detention.

“Mr. President, there are some people who are still in detention as a result of EndSars’ protest. They were young people who were protesting for justice, freedom, and democracy,” Sani said at the event attended by Tinubu.

Responding to Shehu’s comment, Adejobi said, “all arrested individuals have been processed according to the law, and none remain unlawfully detained”.

The force spokesperson said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, had pardoned over 100 suspects arrested by the police during the #EndSARS protest.

“The Nigeria Police Force categorically denies the recent allegations made by Senator Shehu Sani at the 2024 Democracy Day Dinner on June 12, 2024, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where the former Senator falsely claimed that some young people have been detained since the 2020 EndSARS protest,” the statement reads.

“For emphasis, no one anywhere in Nigeria is under police detention or being wrongly persecuted for participating in the EndSARS protest.

“The issues surrounding the protest have been debated, researched, and documented, and lessons have been learnt. We have forgiven ourselves and moved on.