The Nigerian TV anchor, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, who has become more prominent in his capacity as host of the widely viewed BBNAIJA yearly reality TV show, has recounted his experience in the hands of the Nigeria Police amidst the ongoing protest against police brutality, the #EndSARS Protest.
The BBNaija host noted that on November 14, 2005, six days after he was called to the Nigerian Bar, an unknown man in mufti he supposed to be an armed robber chased after the car he was in, alongside two of his friends.
After a few minutes of a hot car chase, Ebuka and his friends got to a police checkpoint around Olusegun Obasanjo way in Abuja only to be ambushed by six policemen who shot at their car sporadically.
According to the TV star, one of his friends suffered a bullet wound to the shoulder.
He concluded by stating that despite the disbandment of the rogue SARS unit, people, especially peaceful #EndSARS Protest participants are still being murdered and until the government’s actions match their words, the trust will continually be eroded.
He lamented that “it’s high time people i.e. those in position of authority, are being held accountable for their actions. People should understand that the position they occupy is to serve”… it’s not enough to aspire to a position, but that such individuals should know that it’s a duty and call to service of which they would be held responsible and accountable if they fail to deliver on their responsibilities.
“The right questions should be asked by citizens of the country for what the taxes they pay and how the resources of the nation are used” he said.
The high rate of impunity and injustice mixed with insensitive oppression will never stop until people in authority see and know that the masses are aware of their rights and understand what that right requires from people in position of authority, he said.
Prior to the abolition of SARS by the inspector general of police, Ebuka had had been critical and reacted to the issue of #EndSARS campaign stating that “it’s all press Release Without Action.”
Other celebrities in the entertainment industry have also voiced their sentiments in the #endSARS calls, claiming that indeed “enough is enough”… “our mumu don do.” Notable among these celebrities are; Donjazzy, Olamide, Toke Makinwa, Tacha, Mercy Eke, Erica, Davido, and others too numerous to mention. They not only lent their voices but joined protesters in what they referred to as the ‘noble protests’ that will carve the dawn of a new era and bring forth the birth of a dream Nigeria, which the present generation have been anticipating over the years. A Nigeria devoid of corruption and different from the one they have witnessed in more than fifty years.
However, with the recent turn of events, with the whole world watching, how things are are gradually unfolding, moreso with the massive support that has been registered from various parts of the globe both from Nigerians in the diaspora and citizen of other countries, there is a seeming light at the end of the tunnel in the opinions of many Nigerians.
Hopefully the federal government would listen to the yearnings of the people and cries of police and political reforms such that a good and positive outcome which would be brought forth through the protests the people are embarking on for a change.
Gift Joseph Okpakorese
Staff Writer
