Some concerned police officers in the Lagos State Police Command have advised on how the death of citizens can be avoided during the protest.
The concerned police officers said the police do not need to fire live bullets during protest and arrest of suspects.
The officers said with the right equipment no life will be lost.
The officers have therefore made an appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, to assist them with logistics and the right equipment to reclaim public spaces.
The police officers that spoke on the condition of anonymity said it would be very difficult to reclaim public spaces without adequate logistics.
At the weekend, IGP Adamu had ordered all Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and commanders of formations to reclaim public spaces in the wake of the mayhem that ensued during the #EndSARS protest against police brutality. Hoodlums seized the protests and unleashed violence on public and private properties and individuals, with the security agencies keeping a low profile.
With Lagos as one of the hardest-hit states, spokesman for the concerned policemen in Lagos, simply known as Sam, said: “We need logistics such as teargas canisters, water cannons, stun guns and vehicles and more arms and ammunition to enable us to reclaim the public spaces. This is the truth, but the police authorities will not tell the President the truth. Let the President know that we don’t need to carry guns or use live bullets to confront protesters. All we need are stun guns, teargas, and water cannons.
“There are two types of water cannon: one is cold (water cannon) while the other is hot. The hot one is used during a violent protest, it will peel the body of any protester, giving serious evidence that he or she was at the scene of the protest. The cold one is used when the protest is not violent, but it has serious force that can pull down the protesters and weaken them.
“If the government is not paying lip service to the issue of security, it should provide us with all these logistics and see whether there will be any record of death during protests. We lack all these modern logistics and are armed with raw bullets; that is why we hear of deaths. The equipment that I mentioned is used all over the world. If the government should provide us with all these, we don’t need to shoot anyone, but we are only armed with guns and ammunition. What do they expect us to do when we were armed to kill?”
The cops urged the President, the National Assembly, and police high command to sit at a roundtable to address all issues concerning the police.
“For instance, over 20 police stations were burnt in Lagos alone; when you add it the number to other police stations in other states of the federation, you will see the magnitude of damage done to the police. Our armories were looted before the protesters burnt down our stations. The police high command has instructed that we should go back to duty even in the burnt stations without talking about replacing the arms and ammunition carted away or burnt.
“Some of our patrol vehicles were either burnt or destroyed and the police high command has not done anything about it, yet we are asked to go back to duty. These are the things that we want the IGP to discuss with the government to enable us to go back to duty,”
the policemen said.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, at a press conference yesterday, said 58 police vehicles were burnt, while 13 were vandalized.
From Police Headquarters, Abuja, Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, urged members of the public to go about their normal duties without fear as the police have deployed personnel to reclaim and secure public spaces: “There is massive police operation going on all over the country in line with the IGP’s directives for commanders to deploy all resources to reclaim the public spaces. I can tell you authoritatively that the police have covered significant grounds and we are making progress.
“You can see that with the rate at which the activities of hoodlums and looting have reduced. You can see the frequency of attacks on critical infrastructures has reduced. People must understand that in a situation like this, deployment should be on targeted areas purposeful and intelligence-driven. We are prioritizing our assets to take care of critical and vulnerable areas. To protect critical infrastructures, banks, police facilities, and other sensitive facilities.”
