Kamaru Usman of Nigeria celebrates after his victory over Jorge Masvidal in their UFC welterweight championship fight (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman shared a passionate plea for the end to violence in Nigeria over Sars
Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya were two UFC champions that responded to reports of violence in Nigeria over the Sars.
Tensions had been growing in Nigeria over the abuse of power from the Sars (Special Anti-robbery Squad).
Many Nigerians wanted the Sars force to be disbanded and President Muhammadu Buhari did dissolve the unit.
However, the demonstrators wanted more changes over how the country was run and the security forces too (h/t BBC).
A curfew was announced in a few parts of Lagos. However, protestors refused to disperse as they sang the national anthem at the Lekki toll gate.
This led to further violence with shootings taking place with security forces clashing with protestors. Government officials have claimed that the peaceful Anti-Sars protests had been hijacked by criminal elements and they wanted to ensure the safety of all.
However, reports from the ground claim that citizens were being targetted and further curfews were in place. A few Nigerian police stations had also been set on fire by protesters and attacks from both sides have taken place.
The UFC champion posted a couple of videos on Twitter bringing up the violence in his home country.
Usman said it was difficult for him to understand what was going on in the country right now. He also asked what the president was doing during all this:
“Where are you? Where are you Mr. President?
“This is lasting for more than 1-2 days for you to take notice. How is this going for so long that you can’t come out and talk to your children, talk to your country?
“Talk to us. Talk to us.”
Usman backed change in the African country and claimed the Government had been failing them for a long time:
“You have been elected to lead us but you guys have failed. You guys have been failing for a long long time.”
The Nigerian Nightmare added that this was a heartbreaking situation for the country and was going to do everything he can from his end.
Nigeria is just one country where protests are going on against the government or the police, and many fans shared their concerns about the situation in the country.
Israel Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria, also brought up the violence and he had just one message for all this.
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