President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday met with former Nigerian leaders on the #EndSARS protest and the happenings in the country resulting from the demonstrations.

Former presidents and heads of state who attended the virtual meeting from their various homes were General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), Chief Ernest Shonekan, General Abulsalami Abubakar (rtd), and Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

The President began by acknowledging the genuine and well-intended #EndSARS protest of youths in parts of the country against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

He, however, said it was unfortunate that the demonstration was hijacked and misdirected, stressing that the Federal Government would not fold its arms and allow miscreants and criminals to continue to perpetrate acts of hooliganism.

President Buhari also recounted the concessions made by his administration on the demands of the youths condemning the excesses of members of the SARS.

He recalled that the protesters had demanded that the squad be disbanded, and further articulated the additional demands.

These, according to the President, included the immediate release of all arrested protesters, and justice for deceased victims of police brutality, and appropriate compensation for their families.

Others were setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct within 10 days, psychological evaluation and re-training of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed, as well as an increase in police salary.

”We accepted all the demands and proceeded immediately to scrap SARS and started the process of addressing the other demands.

”Unfortunately, the protesters refused to call off the protest and engage the government to address their grievances,” President Buhari was quoted as saying in a statement by his media adviser, Femi Adesina.