The previous President Goodluck Jonathan has stated that the usage of deadly force towards citizens might only aggravate tensed situations than assuage it.
He additionally referred to as on Nigerian leaders to know that “a nation can by no means win a battle towards its personal folks.”
Jonathan acknowledged this in response to the shooting of unarmed #EndSARS protesters in Lagos State on Tuesday by men in Nigerian Army uniform.
The previous president condemned the incident in a press release on Thursday he entitled “A call for Peace”.
The assertion learn, “My heart goes out to the families of younger Nigerians who have lost their lives in the past days because of #EndSARS protests. Could God grant them the fortitude they need at this troublesome time. It has been a troublesome time to me as well.
“Nation-building is a collective job that entails the real efforts of all patriotic citizens; old or young. Our nation can’t afford to lose the lives of our youth who we glance as much as take over leadership and continue our nation’s journey to greatness.
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“As leaders, we should perceive {that a} nation can never win a battle against its own folks.
“Thus, the usage of deadly force towards citizens solely aggravates tense conditions quite than assuage it. We should subsequently transfer away from battlegrounds to middle grounds in our particular person and nationwide life. This, I consider, epitomises the essence of democracy.
“I condemn any unnecessary loss of life and urge efforts to be stepped up to make sure that there isn’t any such reoccurrence.
“All of us should settle for that we’re all brothers and sisters of one Nigeria, and all the time act in direction of one another accordingly.
“No person’s curiosity is definitely worth the blood of any Nigerian citizen.”
Jonathan, subsequently, referred to as on security agencies to make sure they perform their constitutional obligations of defending lives and property with most restraints.
He equally appealed to the young protesters to present peace an opportunity, “particularly now that completely different stakeholders have demonstrated the willingness to analyze the varied allegations of excessive use of force on residents and handle the culture of impunity by security personnel”.
