Naira Marley, a Nigerian singer, has shelved his proposed protest against the extrajudicial killings and harassment of youth by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
On Monday, the ‘Soapy’ crooner had in a series of tweets announced that he would be leading a peaceful march alongside his fans christened ‘Marlians’.
“So 9am Tuesday, we move 2nd toll gate peaceful protest no vandalism, no fights and no stealing,” he had written.
But following his tweets, Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports, had urged the singer not to embark on the planned protest, noting that the federal government was already looking into the matter.
“I urge you and other youth not to embark upon any protest. Your grievances are being addressed at the highest level of government. As the Minister in charge of youth I know this is an issue that must be tackled. Government is doing just that,” the minister wrote.
Marley, however, insisted on staging the protest, explaining that is not the first time the government would make such promise.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), however, weighed into the matter, assuring the singer that it was already partnering relevant stakeholders with a view to tackling the SARS issue.
It said Mohammed Adamu, the inspector-general of police (IGP), remains committed towards addressing the issue following the recent nationwide outrage.
“@officialnairam1The Inspector General of Police wishes to inform Nigerian youths that their voices and complaints on the issues of unprofessional conducts by some SARS operatives have been heared very loudly and clearly,” it wrote in a Twitter thread.
It added that Frank Mba, police spokesman, will be holding an Instagram Live session with the singer and his fans by 11 am on Tuesday to address their grievances.
“Today, Tuesday 6th October, 2020, by 11am, the Force PRO- DCP Frank Mba will be having a live instagram chat with Naira Marley to answer questions and discuss the concerns of young Nigerians on the issues of SARS operations and other burning issues. Please stay tuned,” it added.
As a result of this, Marley announced that the planned protest would not be taking place any longer.
“We won’t be protesting anymore because there’s a lot of changes being made right now. As a Marlian we will give them a week to see the changes and if there’s no changes we will start a mass protest,” he wrote.
We won’t be protesting anymore because there’s a lot of changes being made right now. As a Marlian we will give them a week to see the changes and if there’s no changes we will start a mass protest. #togetherwecan https://t.co/RNBXZ0IOfw
— nairamarley (@officialnairam1) October 6, 2020
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The renewed protests against SARS started on Saturday after a video showing a man allegedly gunned down in Delta by operatives of the police unit went viral.
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