The Presidential Panel on Police Reforms has approved 5-point demand of protesters.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina made this known in a statement.
He said following directives by President Muhammadu Buhari on dissolution of Special Anti-Robbery Squad-SARS, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, convened a meeting with stakeholders, agreeing to meet demands.
According to the statement, the meeting, organized by the Office of the Inspector General of Police and National Human Rights Commission, was attended by leaders and representatives of civil society organisations, activists from the entertainment industry, the ENDSARS movement, development partners among others.
They affirmed that the five-point demands of the protesters and the ENDSARS movement were genuine concerns and would be addressed by Government.
A communiqué of Stakeholders’ Meeting on the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) stressed the need for engagement to build trust and restore public confidence in law enforcement.
It states that the agitations also brought to the Fore, the need to implement the recommendations of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The statement noted that the Forum collectively welcomed the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; Reaffirmed the constitutional rights of Nigerians to peaceful assembly and protest; affirmed the sanctity of life of every Nigerian and the role of the Police in protecting this right
The Forum noted that the dissolution of SARS presented an opportunity to embark on comprehensive reforms aimed at repositioning the Nigerian Police Force as a modern, responsive and citizens-centred law enforcement organisation.
It further stressed that the proposed reforms should be anchored under the basis of the White Paper Report of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad which was jointly authored by the National Human Rights Commission, the Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Nigeria Police Force.
The Forum affirmed that reform proposals for the Nigerian Police Force would be based on Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and existing legislations such as the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act, 2019, Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, National Human Rights Commission Act, 2010 amongs others.
The statement called for, An order by the Inspector General of Police to all State Commands to halt the use of force against protesters; Unconditional release of arrested protesters and citizens; Open communication and outreach to citizens to establish trust and confidence and a roadmap for implementation of the White Paper of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the SARS.
It welcomed the proposal to set up an Independent Investigation Panel to look into the violations of human rights by the defunct SARS and other segments of the Nigerian Police.
BELLO WAKILI