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#EndSWAT: No Indication Govt Is Prepared To Respect Nigerians’ Rights – Says Falana

Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, has faulted the Federal Government for setting up a new unit called the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, to replace the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Unit (SARS).

Falana told Channels TV on Wednesday that a change of name was not enough and it appears there’s no indication that the government is prepared to respect the rights of Nigerians.

“As far as I’m concerned, so far, we are only scratching the surface of the problem and there’s been no indication that the government is prepared yet to respect the rights of the Nigerian people embodied in the constitution and other statues,” he said.

Just like many other Nigerians, Mr Falana believes that the problems go beyond a name change and, therefore, more concrete steps ought to be taken to bring about real change to policing in Nigeria.

“For me, it is not actually the name that matters and I think what the youths are saying is that beyond renaming, they want to see concrete steps taken to show that it is not going to be business as usual when it comes to policing in Nigeria,”.

The lawyer challenged state governors to also rise up to the occasion by doing all within their power to ensure the safety of its residents, rather than solely relying on the Federal Government.

“It is supposed to be a joint responsibility,” he said.

Speaking further, Falana said Nigerians owe the youths a lot of gratitude for “the peaceful manner in which they have carried out the protests and also for waking all of us up to our responsibilities”.