The leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has offered to pay Nigerian soldiers and police officers salary amid the outcry by Nigerians on the ongoing police brutality in the country.
There are reports that Kanu’s statement is coming at a time protesting youths in Nigeria are agitating for the end to police brutalization and extrajudicial killings of Nigerians. The protesters have been on the streets for more than a week now, protesting the brutalities, humiliation, and extortion of Nigerians, especially the youths.
The protesters demanded an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit under the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Anthony Ogbizi, using a hashtag: #EndSARS.
On Sunday, October 11, 2020, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu disbanded SARS following a widespread protest from Nigerians worldwide.
However, since the announcement that SARS has been scrapped, the protesters refused to leave the streets, which a Presidential Advisory Committee said might force the Federal Government to take drastic measures against the protesting youths.
On Tuesday, October 20, men suspected to soldiers of the Nigerian Army invaded a peaceful protest at Lekki toll gate on Tuesday evening, October 20, killing #EndSARS protesters in the process.
Apparently displeased with the attacks on peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gate, some Nigerians believed to be thugs, went on rampage as they were seen vandalizing several properties across the nation including the burning of police stations and killing of police officers.
Speaking after the unrest in Nigeria, Kanu stressed that as a Nigerian soldier or police officer if the person should “resign from Nigeria Police/Army Irrespective of your tribe, IPOB will pay you two months salary in advance”, adding that his pro-Biafra group will “furthermore pay your monthly salary while you work for your people.”
“If you resign from Nigeria Police/Army Irrespective of your tribe, #IPOB will pay you 2 months salary in advance and furthermore pay your monthly salary while you work for your people,” Kanu said.
