Nigerian famous entertainer, Femi Kuti, has called for comprehensive reform of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) which he said requires a complete reorientation. The singer who stated this while addressing the media at the New Afrika
Shrine, Lagos where a protest against Police brutality took place on Friday, April 5, 2019, said he believes the Police Force was important to curbing crime but must work for law-abiding Nigerians, not against them.
The Pulse reports that the protest was in reaction to the fatal shooting of Kolade Johnson, a 36-year-old who was killed on Sunday, March 31, 2019, when the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SACS) of the Lagos State Police Command was attempting to arrest another man because of his dreadlocks in the Mangoro area of Lagos.
Kuti said that the protest is not an attempt to undermine or scrap the Police Force but to demand a reform of the system that'll make it work in the interest of the people and not kill them unlawfully. Describing Kolade's fatal shooting as one too many tragic excesses of the Force that should not be condoned, Kuti said a change is important.
"We're not against the Police. We're saying the complete orientation of the Police must change into positiveness. The Police works for us and must defend its citizens. The Police cannot go and kill its citizens. We pay our taxes so the Police must defend us.
"We're not saying scrap the Police Force, of course, there'll be crime. If Police is properly equipped then Police can protect us against crime," he said.
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