END SARS: ‘Nigerians are tired of suffering’ – Catholic Bishops back protesters

The Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has declared that the ongoing demonstration across the country is a right call at the right time.

The body said Nigerians were no longer happy with the suffering from the brutal, and injustices perpetrated by officers of the SARS and the Nigeria Police Force a whole.

The group in a statement said enough is enough.

I send you greetings from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) on this occasion of the widespread protest calling for an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police For.. It is remarkable and quite commendable that this protest is being led by the you of Nigeria who are tired of suffering from the brutal, and injustices perpetrated by officers of the SARS and the Nigeria Police Force a whole. There is hardly, Nigerian who has not directly or indirectly encountered the crude and inhuman manner the SARS officials deal with citizens of this country.

The youths are therefore simply calling for justice not just for themselves, but for the entire nation so that Nigeria can have peace. Whereas the Federal Government keeps king for peace and calm in the fact of every crisis, the present agitation shows that our youths have run out of patience and are tired of the lip-service paid by the government of the day towards a just and peaceful society.

We unequivocally add our voice to those of our you and that of every well-meaning Nigerian to condemn the excess and the horrible operations of this police unit and the bad omen they portend to our democracy.

The Government of Nigeria must realise that anyone who desires peace, must work for and cherish justice since there can be no true peace where injustice is the order of the day as it is in Nigeria today. We need to also remind ourselves that peace Ls not the absence of war because wherever there is injustice, war has already been declared on the people.

Thus, the cries of our children protesting against the brutality of the SARS that manifest in extrajudicial killings, unlawful arrests, profiling of you as criminals, the invasion of their privacy by searching phones and laptops without any warrant or any just cause, and the incarceration of many of the youths in the SARS custody without trial, arc all cries for justice.

We the members of the CBCN have follow the protests with keen interest and call on the Federal Government of Nigeria once again to listen to the cry for justice so that peace.