A group of EndSARS activists in Osun have described the renewed protest in the state as needless and unnecessary.
The group in a letter addressed to the Department of State Service (DSS) in Osun, a copy of which was made available to newsmen on Friday, distanced themselves from the protest that took place in Osogbo on Monday.
The letter was jointly signed by Ismaheel Abdulazeez; State Chairman of Nigerian Youth Council and, Teslim Salawudeen; President, National Association of Osun State Students (NAOSS).
Other activists who were signatories to the letter were Queen Fisayo Aderemi, Ayo Ologun, Rauf Sadiq Success, Oluwasegun Idowu and Babawale Popoola.
They described the attempted fresh protest as self-serving, needless, ill-conceived, unnecessary and capable of compromising the peace and progress of the state.
Some youths, led by one Emmanuel Adebayo, had on Monday staged a protest to the House of Assembly, Osogbo, demanding among others, the disbandment of the state EndSARS panel over alleged non-inclusion of EndSARS activists in the panel.
The activists, however, said the fresh protest was needless and unnecessary, considering the recent quantum of destruction and looting that characterised the recent protest in the state and the ongoing proceedings of the Judiciary Panel of Inquiry.
The letter reads in part: “We are compelled by prevailing circumstances as EndSARS stakeholders in Osun to alert your good office and other security agents on the recent development which is capable of compromising the peace and progress of the state. It is before the public knowledge that fresh EndSARS protest resonated in Osun on Monday December 7, 2020 led by one Emmanuel Adebayo, demanding among others, disbandment of Osun Judicial Panel of Enquiry on Police Brutality, claiming non-inclusion of EndSARS activists in the State. Emmanuel is impersonating the EndSARS movement in Osun to make it look like his personal estate and anything that do not benefit him personally is anti-EndSARS movement. It is on record that when the state government constituted the panel, it was agreed that the panel should be expanded to accommodate more members of EndSARS movement which was acceded to by the government. It was against this development and other prevailing circumstances that all of us in EndSARS movement, decided to suspend the protest on October 27, 2020 and Emmanuel Adebayo was among the four signatories to the position paper to suspend the protest. How and what informed the new protest without recourse to others who are stakeholders is still amazing. As responsible youths with high stake in the progress and development of Osun, we are under obligation to intimate the security agencies of this ulterior motive and completely dissociate ourselves and our organisations from such protest. We also urge our youths to desist from being a willing tool in the hands of those who are hell bent to use EndSARS protest as a cover to promote personal interest at the detriment of the security of the state”.
