#EndSARS: After meeting Buhari, Lawan, Gbajabiamila beg youths to stop protests

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, have appealed to youths to stop the ongoing protests against the scrapped Special Anti-Robbery Unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

They said the government was working hard to meet all their demands.

The two leaders of the National Assembly made the appeal after a meeting they had with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Sunday.

It was earlier reported that the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the now-disbanded police unit approved the five-point demands put forward by the youths protesting against the brutality and extrajudicial killings by ex-SARS operatives.

Although the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu announced a replacement, the protesters want the police authorities to carry out psychological evaluation and re-training of all disbanded SARS officers before they are redeployed.

They demand the release of all arrested protesters, justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families. They also want increased salaries for police officers as well as the establishment of an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct.

The government and some business leaders had tried to persuade the youths to leave the streets but the protesters have insisted that until the government implements their demands, the demonstrations would continue.

Major highways across the country have been blocked thereby grounding economic activities.