Musician Naira Marley to lead protests against Nigeria’s ‘rogue’ force

Nigerian rapper rapper Azeez Fashola, better known by his stage name Naira Marley, will on Tuesday morning lead a protest against a notorious unit in the police force.

The Special Anti Robbery Squad (Sars) has been accused of atrocities against innocent civilians and routine harassment.

The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Monday banned the unit from carrying out stop and search duties and setting up roadblocks.

The hashtag #EndSARS had been trending on Twitter, triggered by the alleged killing of a young man by officers from the unit in the city of Lagos on Saturday.

Naira Marley tweeted that the “peaceful protest” in the commercial capital, Lagos, will start at 09:00 local time.

Minister of Youth, Sunday Dare, has urged the musician not to embark in the protest because “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,” he tweeted.

But the musician responded that there were no assurance of government acting to concerns of brutality by the force.