The General Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has warned that freezing accounts of #EndSARS activists goes against the collective interest of Nigerians, as it may trigger further protests.
According to Channels TV, Mr. Bakare disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
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“As our nation returns to the drawing board in the wake of the #EndSARS protests, I have observed with keen interest the policy actions and positions taken by national and subnational governments to address the broader issues of youth development in Nigeria,” Mr. Bakare said.
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He urged that the current mood in the nation calls for collective sobriety from the masses and the Federal Government, to prevent another crisis from happening.
“Truth be told, this season of our national life requires deep humility, sobriety, and deliberate thinking through, both by the government and the governed, in order to ensure that our plans, policies, and actions are weighed before they are implemented, to avert the re-occurrence of our most recent crisis.”
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Mr. Bakare warned that some steps taken by the government, including freezing accounts, need to be reversed to prevent the triggering of another round of protests.
“In light of the foregoing, some of the actions recently taken by the government on the heels of the #EndSARS protests may need to be reversed sooner rather than later in our collective best interest, so that they do not trigger further protests.
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“Among such policy actions is the freezing of the accounts of young Nigerians who reportedly sponsored the protests, targeting and arresting citizens on trumped-up charges, deploying court probes as a tool of intimidation, and generally eroding our fragile peace, are deeply worrisome signs of regression.
“It is painful that the younger generation has had to face the same beasts we fought in my generation. This is why we cannot afford to keep sinful silence when the youths of our nation are being oppressed by a Nigerian state that is supposed to protect them,” Bakare said.
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What you should know
Nairametrics reported earlier that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) received the nod of the federal high court in Abuja to freeze the accounts of 19 individuals and a public affairs company linked to the #EndSARS protests till January.
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The Central Bank of Nigeria, later disclosed it told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the funds in these accounts might be linked to terrorist activities.
