In an effort to commemorate Nigeria’s collective fight for justice, Mike Okiro, the former Inspector General of Police (IGP), has made a plea to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare October 20 National Freedom Day.
Okiro, Board Chairman of JusticeNOW International, also known as NigeriaFIRST Foundation, who made the plea at a press conference to commemorate the 3rd anniversary of the EndSARS Memorial said institutionalising October 20 a National Freedom Day in the country would be one of Tinubu’s greatest legacy.
Additionally, he said it will demonstrate the president’s love for the youths as well as show his respect for the innocent Nigerians who died at the Lekki Toll Gate.
The former IGP also applauded President Tinubu for what he called his strategic choice of young people to serve as Ministers for Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation, Minister for Youth Development, Minister for the Interior, and several other positions within the Presidency.
The ex-IGP said, “Your Excellency, in your noble capacity as the Head of the Government of Nigeria, the full responsibility and powers now rest on your shoulders to do something remarkable to change the narratives of the #EndSARS for the better because this generation cannot forget the memories of October 20, 2020.
“As a body committed to the NigeriaFIRST advocacy, which seeks national Interest, patriotism and peaceful coexistence, we are therefore officially and publicly appealing, for the third time, thus using the instrumentality of your Excellency’s Renewed Hope to appeal for your Excellency’s Presidential Declaration of October 20th as National Freedom Day- to remember our collective struggles of our youths for justice.
“Your Excellency Mr. President, it will please you to know that the institutionalisation of October 20th as National Freedom Day (National Holiday) would be one of Your Excellency’s greatest legacy ever.
“It will show your true appreciation of your love for the youths as this development would serve as a sign of respect to the souls of departed at Lekki Toll Gate otherwise known as struggles for social justice.
“Already, one of our Organization’s advocacy for the EndSARS has been clearly witnessed, which is your Excellency’s maximum engagement of youths and young people in the governance structures of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“We therefore use this opportunity to thank your Excellency for the strategic appointments of a truly young persons to serve as Hon. Ministers for Humanitarian And Poverty Alleviation as well as Minister for Youth Development and the Minister for Interior and several others in the Presidency.
“This is a great sign your excellency will approve this national proposal (October 20) to further prove your excellency was never against the EndSARS Protest at the Lekki Toll Gate as it was widely speculated by some quarters in Nigeria and abroad.”
Okiro praised Nigerian and African Diaspora stakeholders for their support over the years, while acknowledging Comrade Vik-Morrow’s efforts as the Organization’s Speaker and International President in these diaspora strategic engagements.
It would be recalled that on October 8, 2020, young people all over the nation took to the streets for several days in protest against the decades-long abuse, deformity, and murder committed by the nation’s security forces.
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a renegade police force charged with extrajudicial executions, extortion, and kidnapping among other heinous crimes, was the object of their wrath.
The demonstrations, dubbed EndSARS, quickly grew into a widespread demand to abolish the squad.
On October 20, that year, it briefly disappeared when soldiers opened fire on unarmed protestors at the well-known Lekki toll gates in Lagos, the country’s commercial center.
Amnesty International reported that hundreds more were injured in addition to at least 12 fatalities.
The Nigerian military was found to be at fault in a leaked report by a panel of inquiry that the Lagos State government had established, but the report was rejected by the authorities.
After three years, analysts and advocates claim that the law has not been followed and that security agency violence has persisted, primarily behind closed doors.
