By NewsCritic Reporters
The Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders’ Foundation (HURIDE) has unequivocally condemned the coordinated jailbreak in two Benin prisons Edo State, as well as the mindless destruction of lives and properties by suspected hoodlums, who infiltrated the EndSARS protests.
According to the group the miscreants under the cover of EndSARS protest broke into the Prison in Benin and set the notorious criminals free, especially over 130 inmates serving different prison sentence.
The HURIDE stressed that these developments have fuelled speculation that most of the protesters are criminals, who want to use the protest to perpetrate criminality by invading prison yards and forcefully releasing suspected bandits serving various prison terms in the two prisons.
The actions of these youths, said HURIDE, were highly “reprehensible, despicable, strange, evil and against the letters of ENDSARS peaceful protest throughout the country”. Also “not done with their criminal activities, they burnt down different police stations and killed unarmed Police officers and civilians.
In the statement signed by the Chairman, Board or Trustees (BoT), HURIDE, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, HURIDE said security operatives should immediately arrest these criminal elements and bring them to justice. “They should arrest police officers who killed civilians during their peaceful protest throughout the country.
HURIDE cautioned Edo youths to take a cue from Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Port Harcourt and other peaceful states during these protests.
“The youths should concentrate purely on reformation, restructuring, employment, engagement of the youths among other basic infrastructural requirements in line with our statutory constitutional provisions.
The group further urge President Muhammadu Buhari, to immediately constitute a special commission of enquiry to look into the budgetary allocations of the Police, since the advent of democracy in 1999, especially in the area of welfare and wellbeing of Police officers throughout the country.
The panel, said HURIDE, should also look at the decaying barracks, Police vehicles and the issue of funding, uniforms, among other things.
“They should equally look into the prompt payment of pension and gratuity of retired police officers throughout the country, and the increment of their statutory basics salaries and allowances.
The Commission, said the human rights body should equally look into stagnancy in the promotion of officers and men of the Police, saying that the statutory monthly allocation of maintenance of Police Divisions should also be reviewed accordingly to enable them confront the present harsh economic situation.
