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Moghalu backs #EndSARS protests, urges youths to remain peaceful

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News of me endorsing Atiku is fake, Moghalu

The former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Kingsley Moghalu, has thrown his weight behind #EndSARS protests in the country.

Moghalu, who was the Young Progressive Party (YPP) presidential candidate in 2019 presidential election, said in a statement on Friday the peaceful demonstrations by the Nigerian youth against police brutality were a necessary and welcome response to the culture of impunity represented by the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

He said: “The protests have been largely peaceful. I commend Nigerian youths for the maturity, determination, and discipline they have shown in keeping the protests peaceful.

“My objective assessment is that this stance has not changed six days into the protest, despite the occasions of high-handed responses by the police that have resulted in the death of some protesters.

“By their peaceful conduct, the youths have shown that they are coming of age. I commend them for this. It is important that while it lasts the protest must remain peaceful.”

According to him, Nigerian youths are not expendable and they are the future of Nigeria.

Moghalu added: “Therefore, apart from addressing their demands, President Muhammadu Buhari should ensure that the protesters are safe.

READ ALSO: #EndSARS protesters defy ban, observe Jummat on Abuja road

“So far, the president seems to have restrained the police and has kept the military from the fray.

“He should also ensure that non-state actors do not instigate or carry out attacks on the protesters.

“The #ENDSARS protest has many merits. Many citizens have been reporting their experiences of victimisation by operatives of the now-defunct FSARS unit of the Nigeria Police Force.”

The ex-CBN official added that some citizens had met their deaths in the hands of people whose job it was to protect them.

He stressed that it was tragic when a law enforcement agency that should protect the lives of citizens preys on those very citizens, with a profound disregard for their lives instead of reducing the spiraling rate of violent crime in Nigeria.

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