Abuja, 26 October, 2020 / 8:04 pm (ACI Africa).
Reports of looting and destruction of property amid nationwide protests in Nigeria have “saddened” the Archbishop of Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese who has recalled the initially youth-led peaceful demonstrations against the country’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
“I am very saddened by the news of uncivilized conduct of looting and arson that have gone on in parts of the country these past days,” Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama said in his Sunday, October 25 homily at St. Mary Magdalene Parish of the Archdiocese of Abuja.
He reflected on the beginnings of the protests saying, “The youths embarked on a peaceful protest demanding an end to police brutality, the protection of lives, decorum in conduct by those in authority, accountability, good governance, etc.”
It was the peaceful nature of the youth-led protests that members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) issued a collective statement October 17 expressing their solidarity “with these youths and everyone who legitimately cries for justice.”
“Following the protests, some youths have been gunned down. Miscreants and hoodlums hiding under the #Endsars movement has destroyed very valuable private and public properties across the country,” Archbishop Kaigama lamented October 25.