Richard Ginika Izuora
Nigerian singer, Naira Marley has said that he will be spearheading the #EndSars protest today, Tuesday, October 6.
Naira Marley’s move is coming amidst the campaign from the public to abolish the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, following series of alleged extrajudicial killings, brutality and abuse of power in the society.
Several notable celebrities have spoken against the ill treatment of predominantly Nigerian youths.
Naira Marley is putting action to words as he has announced plans to lead an #EndSars peaceful protest on Tuesday, October 6.
He announced this on his Twitter handle on Monday evening.
”So 9am tomorrow we move 2nd toll gate Peaceful protest No vandalism, no fights and no stealing.”he tweeted.
Naira Marley’s statement is coming several hours after he shared his two cents pertaining to Police brutality in the country.
According to him, not every Police officer is a bad person. He stated that, indeed, there are bad eggs in the Police unit, however, there are several officers who are professional in executing their duty.
Marley said; I don’t think EndSars is the problem. It’s not about EndSars, what are you talking about EndSars? If you end Sars, the police are going to shoot or someone else with a gun is still going to shoot,” he said.
“You need to stop the shooting, it’s not about ending SARS. Like to be honest, there are actually a lot of SARS that are actually doing their work. Not all police are bad.”
“They all not bad. Some of them are actually good, you know. There are some SARS that have actually done their work. You can’t just say end SARS just because one SARS or two SARS f**ked up.”
Meanwhile, The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Monday, October 5, implored Naira Marley, to shelve his planned protest against Police brutality.
Dare made this appeal via his verified Twitter account.
The Minister asked Marley to stop the protest slated for Tuesday, noting that the singer’s grievance is being addressed at the ‘highest level of government’.
Dare tweeted, “I urge you and other youth not to embark upon any protest. Your grievances are being addressed at the highest level of government.
“As the Minister in charge of youth, I know this is an issue that must be tackled. The government is doing just that.”
Responding to the Minister’s tweet, Naira Marley simply asked if Sunday Dare cared about the youths in the country.
“Ekale Sir. We have heard this before. Four times. Why will this time be different? Do you really care about the youth?
“Many of us have been killed and they harass us every day. What is the assurance this time? We need assurance,” Naira Marley tweeted.