The United States Mission in Nigeria responded to the EndSARS memorial protest in the country that to took place on 20-10-2021 to commemorate those who died in the Lekki Tollgate massacre on October 20, 2020.
The US mission in Nigeria advised the demonstrators on Wednesday on their verified Facebook account to get involved politically if they want their voices to be heard by the government.
The message reads;
“Today is a day to reflect on the loss of life and property during last year’s #EndSARS protests. We appreciate the work done by the various judicial panels and look forward to the implementation of recommendations and compensation to victims of police brutality.
We support ongoing police reform efforts. We encourage those who demonstrated for change to engage politically to achieve it,”
Remember that last year thousands of Nigerians, mostly young people, took to the streets to protest the police brutality in the country.
Thus, It has been exactly a year since young people from across the country took to the streets of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Rivers, Abuja, Enugu, and Anambra states, among others, to demonstrate. They used the protest, which was then hijacked by thugs, to call for the eradication of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
EndSARS is a movement campaigning for the abolition of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a notorious division of the Nigerian police force with a long history of abuse.
This protest, which was intended to be one of the few peaceful and well-organized events in recent times, was hijacked by hoodlums, forcing hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs to surrender to relatives begging to survive after their stores and offices. were looted and vandalized.
According to recent research, a few of these businesses were able to bounce back, hundreds more could not survive the attack as they were forced to take on some jobs as employees to survive and pay their bills.
Some of These Business owners recounted their losses after one year of the violence that erupted during the #ENDSARS protest.
Femi Adenubi, popularly known as Cap-on, owned a beverage shop on Ikorodu Street (Ojota Axis). Before the #endsars incident, he could easily pay his rent, support his family, and pay other bills. His fortune plummeted after his shop was among those that were looted following the violence that followed the #endsars protest.
In an exclusive interview, he told Nairametrics that he was kicked out of the store after failing to pay his rent. That's not all. He was also forced to work as a salesman for a mobile money company when he couldn't afford to pay his bills.
“I am presently crippled after I lost over N400,000 worth of goods to the horrible incident. Since then my life has never been the same.
“If not for a few friends and relatives, I may not have survived the trauma. I have been an entrepreneur before my store was attacked and now I have to survive from the stipend I get from working under someone else as an attendant.” He SAID.
When he was asked if he had tried to apply for the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), he stated that he had done so but to no avail because he and other victims in the area had not been cared for.
In his opinion, the fund was allocated to only a few who were very close to the people in the corridors of power and not ordinary citizens like him.
“I was so expectant after I submitted my application but I and others didn’t get any response from the government. I also made efforts to get loans from some banks but none of that worked, as I couldn’t get someone as a guarantor. I am pleading with the government to have mercy on us and revisit the LSETF and give us the loan to grow our businesses back,” he added.
According to an SBM Intelligence report, titled Protests and Business, said 29% of the companies surveyed lost between 500,000 and 1 million naira; 14% lost between 150,000 and 500,000 N; 14% lost less than 150,000 N.
SBM interviewed and interviewed 180 business owners in two locations in Lagos State: Oshodi Isolo and Lagos Mainland.
The US mission in Nigeria advised the demonstrators on Wednesday on their verified Facebook account to get involved politically if they want their voices to be heard by the government.
The message reads;
“Today is a day to reflect on the loss of life and property during last year’s #EndSARS protests. We appreciate the work done by the various judicial panels and look forward to the implementation of recommendations and compensation to victims of police brutality.
We support ongoing police reform efforts. We encourage those who demonstrated for change to engage politically to achieve it,”
Remember that last year thousands of Nigerians, mostly young people, took to the streets to protest the police brutality in the country.
Thus, It has been exactly a year since young people from across the country took to the streets of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Rivers, Abuja, Enugu, and Anambra states, among others, to demonstrate. They used the protest, which was then hijacked by thugs, to call for the eradication of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
EndSARS is a movement campaigning for the abolition of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a notorious division of the Nigerian police force with a long history of abuse.
This protest, which was intended to be one of the few peaceful and well-organized events in recent times, was hijacked by hoodlums, forcing hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs to surrender to relatives begging to survive after their stores and offices. were looted and vandalized.
According to recent research, a few of these businesses were able to bounce back, hundreds more could not survive the attack as they were forced to take on some jobs as employees to survive and pay their bills.
Some of These Business owners recounted their losses after one year of the violence that erupted during the #ENDSARS protest.
Femi Adenubi, popularly known as Cap-on, owned a beverage shop on Ikorodu Street (Ojota Axis). Before the #endsars incident, he could easily pay his rent, support his family, and pay other bills. His fortune plummeted after his shop was among those that were looted following the violence that followed the #endsars protest.
In an exclusive interview, he told Nairametrics that he was kicked out of the store after failing to pay his rent. That's not all. He was also forced to work as a salesman for a mobile money company when he couldn't afford to pay his bills.
“I am presently crippled after I lost over N400,000 worth of goods to the horrible incident. Since then my life has never been the same.
“If not for a few friends and relatives, I may not have survived the trauma. I have been an entrepreneur before my store was attacked and now I have to survive from the stipend I get from working under someone else as an attendant.” He SAID.
When he was asked if he had tried to apply for the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), he stated that he had done so but to no avail because he and other victims in the area had not been cared for.
In his opinion, the fund was allocated to only a few who were very close to the people in the corridors of power and not ordinary citizens like him.
“I was so expectant after I submitted my application but I and others didn’t get any response from the government. I also made efforts to get loans from some banks but none of that worked, as I couldn’t get someone as a guarantor. I am pleading with the government to have mercy on us and revisit the LSETF and give us the loan to grow our businesses back,” he added.
According to an SBM Intelligence report, titled Protests and Business, said 29% of the companies surveyed lost between 500,000 and 1 million naira; 14% lost between 150,000 and 500,000 N; 14% lost less than 150,000 N.
SBM interviewed and interviewed 180 business owners in two locations in Lagos State: Oshodi Isolo and Lagos Mainland.