Nigerian celebrities have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to put an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), in seeking justice for Kolade Johnson.
Kolade was allegedly shot dead by a member of a police team, while he was watching a Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in Lagos on Sunday.
Speaking on the development, the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, in a statement said suspects have been arrested and investigation begun into the matter.
Johnson’s death has since sparked widespread criticism from Nigerians and celebrities with a renewed call on the Federal Government to end the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) unit of the police.
Here are reactions gathered by DAILY POST:
@Davido “Rip Kolade Johnson, All this nonsense must stop ! F*cked up my week up ! End SARS ASAP!! Rest In Peace Angel, God is alive !
@Simi “An innocent person dying because of the recklessness of an organization that only exists because of lack of value. They do not care at all! I’m actually fed up, I’m tired.
“Buhari please let someone pay for this. They can’t keep doing this to your people and getting away with it.”
@Banky W “This post is for our leaders: Buhari,Osinbajo, Akinwunmi Ambode, Sanwo-Olu… Dear Sirs, Kolade Johnson, an innocent, young citizen of Nigeria is dead. He was the only son of a widow, a husband and father.
“ His only crime was being in the right place at the wrong time watching a football match when SARS operatives who allegedly came to arrest someone, started shooting sporadically.
“Kolade is not the first innocent victim of reckless behaviour by SARS operatives, and he will almost certainly not be the last. It is sickening, frustrating, and unfair.
“We are tired of hearing about victims of police brutality, but never hearing about the criminal, reckless police officers being brought to justice.
“ We are tired of screaming and tweeting End SARS while our innocent young people are being extorted, bullied, maimed and killed by the very same officers who are meant to protect them.
“And we are tired of our leaders remaining silent, incident after incident. We’re going to track down Kolade’s family, pray with them and raise money to assist them through this terrible tragedy.
“We hope that our leaders will use this opportunity to actually show that they care about our lives and wellbeing, by tracking down the reckless officers responsible for this murder and bringing them to justice for their vicious crime.
“We will not let this go. Kolade was innocent and did not deserve to die. Kolade could have been anyone of us. Please show us that you care about us. Please.”
@Falz “So called police killing young people, abruptly ending our dreams and ambitions. How many more lives are we going to lose?
“What’s the difference between these SARS guys and armed robbers / assasins ?
“This administration is the most insensitive ever in our history. So we voted another 4 years of this bullshit?
@Burna Boy “This May be too much for some of you pto understand but until we are really ready to fight SARS and the powers that be I’m not talking about any aimless protest or marching. I mean really fight, nobody should include me in any hashtags. Until then let’s continue to pray that our turn to die at the hands of SARS never comes.”
@ Timi Dakolo “Another day another senseless killing yet no one is held accountable Another innocent Nigerian gunned down, a promising life snatched for no reason.
“To them it is fine as long as e no reach their house.senseless killings,End SARS.
“With all due respect Nigeria police, Show us a picture of them and let people that were there identify them as the officers that committed the crime.”
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