The presidential candidate of Young Democratic
Party and Convener of
‘To Build A Nation (TBAN)’, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu,
has said killing of Johnson by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has made comprehensive
police reform a necessity.
Johnson was reportedly shot by an operative of the
SARS while in pursuit of a suspect in Agege, a suburb of Lagos on March 31, via
an “accidental” discharge by the SARS of the Nigeria Police Force.
In a statement made available to journalists on
Tuesday, Moghalu stated that the latest reported killing is a reminder of the
need for a comprehensive police reform in the country.
He said: "My heart goes out to the family of Johnson.
The regularity of this kind of wrongful killings by the operatives of
SARS, compounded by their various unprofessional
acts of extortion and harassment of law-abiding citizens, has led to the
agitation to end SARS, captured by the trending #EndSARS.
"Fellow citizens responded quite robustly to
this distressing incident
by protesting offline and on the social media. More
than anything else, however, My presidential campaign ahead of the February 23
elections underscored the need for police reform.
“Such a reform will entail training of Nigeria’s
police officers in modern policing. To make our communities safe, we also
proposed to recruit additional 1.5 million officers into the Force over four
years, adequately
train and equip them."
He called on the authorities to give priority
attention to the safety
of lives and
property in the country.
"This is the primary responsibility of
government and Nigeria is no
exception to this," Moghalu added
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