Members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives has enjoined President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the extrajudicial killings of protesters against the activities of the dreaded special anti-robbery squad (SARS).
The caucus led by Rep. Kingsley Chinda (Rivers), after an emergency meeting in Abuja, condemned the brazen attack on harmless citizens who were only exercising their fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution.
Calling for the withdrawal of soldiers from the streets of Lagos and other parts of the country with recorded rights abuses, the caucus urged the federal government to meet the agitators’ demands with immediate effect.
“Leaning on the widely held consensus of inequality that has gripped the nation, the PDP green chamber caucus wondered why the leadership of the nation instead of heeding to citizens call for responsive leadership would resort to watching machinery of state sniff life out of harmless agitators, in a decade of reasonable engagement and citizens participation has become a courted virtue in other climes,” Chinda said.
“The PDP Caucus agrees that there is need to rejig our abusive implementation of Federalism, calling to mind the need to engender a national conversation by adopting the 2014 National Conference report for consideration by the National Assembly, as well as constitutional amendment to divest power and resources from the centre to States and Local Government Areas.”
The lawmakers urged Buhari to set up a National Judicial Panel of enquiry into citizen’s grievances; establish a National compensation fund for victims of the police brutality; an unemployment benefit fund to be contributed by the three levels of government to cushion the biting effect of the downward economic realities in the country.
The caucus called on the President to urgently address the Nation on the strategies of the government towards tackling the issues with timelines.
The caucus hinted that it will activate legislative actions to salvage the situation and ensure that all those involved in the killings face a criminal trial at the International Criminal Court in the event President Buhari fails to heed to its demands.
The caucus “thereby urged Nigerian Youths to be peaceful in their agitation for a better country, assuring that it will do all in its power to ensure the evolution of an egalitarian society for the common good of all.
