By Francis Sadhere, Warri

As the #EndARS assumed a different dimension with hoodlums taking over the protest, a security expert, Mr Shola Mese, has appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and his men to apologise to the youths.

Mese, who spoke to National Reformer Online in Warri said the apology will help douse tension across the country just like what happened in US during the #Blacklivesmatters protest.

He said, “Let the police swallow their pride and apologize to the youths just like what the police did in US when George Floyd was killed by the police.

“The Inspector General of Police should come out and address the youths and beg them for forgiveness. If he is able to get some policemen and go to the youths and apologize, the protest will be over before you know it.

“Doing this will show that they are remorseful about what they have done to the people.”

On calls for President Muhammadu Buhari to come out and address Nigerians, Mese, who is also the Founder of Focus Guards Security Limited, said, “People should forget about President Buhari coming out to address the nation because he has nothing new to tell the people.

“Even if he comes out he is going to talk like a politician and act like a military man that he is. His coming out to address the youths will even aggravate the protest. So he should not come out to say anything.”

Mese, also advised the Federal Government not to undermine the strength of the youths saying that the youths have the power to cripple the economy through cyber war.

“The government should not undermine the power of the youths. Apart from this protest that is going on, they have a very powerful weapon in their hands. They control the cyber space. If we allow this protest to linger, the youths have all it takes to cripple the economy through a cyber war.

“They can hack the Central Bank and other Government institutions and before you know it, the economy will be down. Most of these youths protesting outside are bankers and IT experts. They know the system,” Mese said.

He appealed to Governors in the country to come out and identify with the genuine protesters rather than imposing curfew that could escalate the protest.

According to Mese, “the state governors are not helping matters. They should engage the youths instead of all these curfew they are putting in place everywhere. They should come out and take part in the protest. In doing this they will be able to protect the youths from the hoodlums that have hijacked the protest.

“These hoodlums who have infiltrated the protest and are burning police stations are only after the guns they can lay their hands on. They want to use the guns to commit more crimes in the future.

“Our traditional rulers don’t  have a say in what goes on in their domains. They are controlled by the government of the day and the youths don’t have regards for them.

On the shooting of protesters in Lekki, Lagos, the security expert said the Lagos state government does have the right to organize the military.

“It is only the Federal Government that has the right to organize the military. So what happened in Lagos was that they have used the Governor as a cover to achieve their aim,” He said.