The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Senior Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and social media giant Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey are supporting the protests against police brutality in Nigeria.
“Our daughters will not be able to prophesy and young men will not see visions if we don’t keep them alive. I support the youths in this peaceful protest as they “speak up” to #EndPoliceBrutality,” Pastor Adeboye tweeted on Wednesday.
Jack on the other hand tweeted #EndSARS with a links to a Tech Cabal’s article detailing how rogue policemen clamped on Nigeria’s tech communitys and the website of Feminist Coalition, a group of Nigerian feminists fighting against injustice through peaceful protests, fundraising, and social media organisation.
Pastor Adeboye’s backing of the protest comes a week after Nigerians, mostly the youth, began a nationwide demonstrations against brutality, harassment, extortion and extrajudicial killing by police personnel.
The protests hacve since forced the Nigerian government act on the young people’s demands when the inspector general of police announced that the controversial Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the police has been dissolved.
Despite dissolving the unit, the protests continue nationwide.
Pastor Adeboye and RCCG are calling on the government to realign their strategies and meet the demands of the youths.
“The Church declares its understanding and appreciation of the concerns and grievances of the youths and the generality of Nigerians and calls for an immediate and to police brutality in the country,” RCCG’s assistant general overseer Pastor Johnson Odesola said in a statement.
“While noting the constitutional responsibility of the Police to maintain law and order the Church emphasizes the need for the Police to constantly align their strategies with the needs of the people.
“While noting that many innocent lives have been lost through unnecessary brutality and wrong application of force, the Church calls on the Government to not only restructure the Police but to also re-orientate the officers towards modern ways of policing.”
The church said it welcomes the disbandment of the SARS and notes the establishment of a new outfit called the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) but advises that “it should not become a case of old wine in a new bottle.”
“The Church appeals to young Nigerians to comport themselves orderly as they have been online and In major cities across the federation and express their grievances within the confines of what God and the Law of the land allows.
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