#ENDSARS protests: IGP visits Oyo, Ogun, Ondo

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, yesterday visited Oyo, Ogun, and Ondo states as part of efforts to boost the morale of the officers and men of the force.

In Oyo, Adamu decried the effect of fake news in Nigeria, saying it was the cause of the recent EndSARS protest which claimed many lives.

The IGP said the firearms given to police officers were not meant to kill innocent Nigerians but to protect them and keep criminals in their custody.

Adamu who stated this when he addressed police officers at the headquarters of Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan, during his one-day tour inspection of the state said people “should be aware that #EndSARS protest started as a fake news, which spread all over the country, and it resulted in the protest.

While in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, he insisted that no amount of victimisation and intimidation could prevent the police from fighting crime”.

He also charged officers in the state police command to go all out and perform their duties.

The IGP who gave the charge when he visited the command on the aftermath of the nationwide #ENDSARS protest, urged his officers to put the incident behind them and come out strong of the crisis.

Adamu noted that the police had learnt their lessons from the nationwide #ENDSARS protest and would come out to perform their duties with civility and respect for human rights.

Adamu who was accompanied by the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of zone 2, Ahmed Iliyasu, AIG urged his men to police Nigeria even better than before the #ENDSARS protest.

While speaking at the Police Command Headquarters, Alagbaka, Akure, the Ondo State capital, Adamu yesterday appreciated policemen for exhibiting professionalism by not fighting back when attacked during the #EndSARS protests across the country.

The police chief who encouraged them to fully return to their duty posts, said no nation could survive without the police.

He said that there would be chaos and serious problems if they stayed off their duty posts.

He assured victims of the protests and their families that they would be promoted to the next rank and adequately compensated.