The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Monday declared support for the End SARS protests.
In a statement posted on his Twitter account, the monarch warned them to stop persecuting demonstrators, saying the youths were fighting a good cause which would positively affect security operatives in the long run.
The monarch also shared a personal experience of SARS excesses which involved his daughter.
The Ooni tweeted: “The #ENDSARS movement has brought nothing but joy to me. Finally, the youths are awake, with one voice and a common goal. I understand your plight, my 25-year-old daughter had a nasty experience with SARS, almost losing her life.
“On her way to the airport, she was stopped and terribly ransacked and surrounded by fully armed plainclothes policemen in a bus, detained for close to 30mins of thorough questioning. Imagine a young female for that matter, all her belongings completely searched all because she was with a laptop on an official assignment from her office in Lagos.
“I can only imagine the countless ones that have lost their lives from such ordeals, may their souls rest in peace. I assure you that this is the beginning of greater things to come in Nigeria. I implore you to demand more but plead with you to do so in a peaceful manner, as anything outside of that will cause unnecessary havoc for all.
“I have been informed of many innocent souls that were arrested and currently been detained, be rest assured that I am pursuing the matter and they will be set free. To the men and women of the Nigerian police force, be assured that this movement is also for you, we know you are humans also and your reality is as a result of your environment.
“These movements demand better on your behalf and are aimed at pushing the government to do better for you and elevate your standard of living. Do not persecute your advocates.
God bless Nigerian youths and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. #ENDPOLICEBRUTALITY.”
