Folarin Falana, also known as Falz the bahd guy, a Nigerian rapper and activist, has alleged that concerts are being held to divert attention away from those who died during the EndSARS protest last year.
The artist detailed the events of the protest in a statement on Friday titled ’20:10:20 [update]’, claiming that no one has yet been punished for the ‘heinous acts’ committed during the protest.
The actor used the word “they” to denote whoever was being addressed in the statement, but it was unclear who was being addressed.
Falz said, “They killed innocent souls that were simply asking not to be killed or brutalized. A year later, no one has been punished yet for those heinous crimes.
“A supposed Police Commissioner ‘warned’ against citizens exercising their fundamental human rights. Yes, a Police Commissioner.
“A couple of well-meaning citizens decided to put together a summit to reflect on last year’s events and honour the lost souls. Event centre pulls out (Instructions from above”)
“As I type this, there is already a heavy police presence at the Lekki toll gate.
“Best thing they could come up with is organizing “concerts” to try and distract us from remembering the real heroes in all of this. The people they murdered.
“What we will never do, however, is be quiet. We will never ever be silenced. Not today, not on the 20th, not ever.”
Recall that in October last year, Nigeria was rocked by the #EndSARS protests.
However, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, the Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer, stated that certain youths were preparing protests to mark the one-year anniversary of #ENDSARS.
To that effect, Ajisebutu said, “To forestall breakdown of law and order, the police will use all legitimate means within its constitutional powers to suppress the protest.”
Civil society organizations such as Amnesty International and Enough is Enough, on the other hand, have urged the Federal Government to use the #EndSARS anniversary to address adolescents about its intention to ensure justice.
