By Shakirudeen Bankole
The ongoing nationwide protest against Police brutality, popularly code named #EndSARS climaxed on Monday in Lagos State, as the entire metropolis witnessed a total lockdown by the aggrieved youths.
As observed by The New Diplomat‘s correspondent, vehicular movements were totally shutdown from across 10 out of the entire 20 Local Government Areas in the state, including Alimosho, Ojo, Badagry, Amuwo, Eti-Osa, Apapa, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Agege, Ikeja and Epe by the protesters.
The development forced many commercial buses off the road, igniting a long and stressful trekking by legions of commuters, some of whom said they were happy to pay the price, if it is all that would require to have a better Nigeria.
“We are stressed out by this lockdown, but happy to be part of the struggle,” a woman of about 55years of age, seen trekking from Ikeja Along to Dopemu, because of road blockage, told The New Diplomat.
Today being day 12 of the nationwide protest, young Nigerians, braved all odds and continued to troop out en masse to express their anger and frustration over what they described as the “unsafe and toxic environment” they have had to live and dwell in.
Calling President Muhammadu Buhari countless unprintable names, some of the protesters said they would rather die on the street than leave without concrete result.
According to Amdallat Busari, a 21-year-old final year student of the Lagos State University Medical College, “the best result from this painstaking efforts is to see a result to would be backed by law from the government.
“If truly they want to be sincere about the ending the notorious SARS, they should let us know who they are recruiting into SWAT!
“Because the Police, by number, are in a ridiculous shortfall against the population. So, who have they recruited into SWAT? How have they gone about prosecuting the identified SARS Killers? And what law have they out in place to ensure it is genuinely self-sustaining,” she asked.
“My name is Joseph Alinson. I am a 20-year-old Undergraduate Student of Lagos State University. I came out to protest because of what happened to my friend, Samuel,” he said.
Alinson, not real name said his friend was shot on his left leg by SARS boys in Ikeja for looking clean and using good phone.
He was supposed to follow his friend on that particular errand where he was shot.
The undergraduate said since his friend’s ordeals, life has been so excruciating for him.
“He has been limping and feeling pains, without justice nor compensation,” he said, as he moved on to continue to pick the wastes being generated by his fellow protesters.
At Strategic locations such as Ikotun, Idimu, Egbeda, Dopemu, Ikeja, Agidingbi, Alausa, Ojota, Mile-2, Maza-Maza, Satellite, Festac Badagry and Agege, youths mount road blocks, as they continued to demonstrate.
The high point was the State Assembly Complex in Alausa, Ikeja, where a music was setup for the protesters, numbering about 3,000.
For more than three hours, as this reporter observed, no government official was seen attending to the protesters.
The first entrace gate into the Secretariat was feasibly locked also.
