A senior official of the United States Government, Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbühl, on Thursday, October 22, met with the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja over the current situation in the country.
This meeting with Osinbajo also had Assistant Secretary Robert Destro and Assistant Secretary Denise Natali, in attendance.
It was held to raise U.S. concerns about the ongoing violence, human rights, religious freedom, and trafficking in persons.
According to a statement by the spokesman of the US mission in Nigeria, Morgan Ortagus, the delegation wanted to hear from senior Nigerian Government officials how the issues are being addressed.
Counselor Brechbühl, while expressing the U.S. condemnation of the use of excessive force by military forces who fired at unarmed demonstrators in Lagos, expressed condolences to the victims of the shootings, urging the Nigerian government to abide by its commitment to hold those responsible accountable under the law.
Both Vice President Osinbajo and Counselor Brechbühl agreed that the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are essential human rights and core democratic principles.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has again appealed to #EndSARS protesters to resist the temptation of being used by some subversive elements to cause chaos with the aim of truncating the nation’s nascent democracy.
The president made the appeal in a national broadcast on Thursday, October 22.
He enjoined the protesters to take advantage of the various initiatives of his administration designed to make their lives better and more meaningful.
According to Buhari, doing otherwise will amount to undermining national security as well as law and order.
He said under no circumstances would this be tolerated.
“I, therefore, call on our youths to discontinue the street protests and constructively engage the government in finding solutions.
”Your voice has been heard loud and we are responding.
”And I call on all Nigerians to go about their normal businesses, and enjoin security agencies to protect lives and properties of all law-abiding citizens without doing harm to those they are meant to protect,” he said.
