#EndSARS: Twitter users call out Tonye Cole’s hypocrisy for supporting end to police brutality

Okenyi Kenechi

Twitter users have blasted Tonye Patrick Cole, the billionaire oil mogul for calling for an end to police brutality.

Tonye Cole, a Rivers State governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress took to Twitter to call for an end to police brutality as #endsars protests engulfed the entire country.

Cole twitted on Saturday that “The Police Force in Nigeria has its shortcomings, as do most Police Forces around the world, but if the Police Force has 99 problems, BRUTALITY against the Youth in Nigeria shouldn’t be one.

“I applaud the brave youths of Nigeria that are standing up for their rights across the country today.

I am even more convinced that you are the change Nigeria needs.

“Beyond #EndPoliceBrutalitynow, I employ the Youth of this Nation to remember that the fight doesn’t stop here or now.

We must reform Nigeria in all sectors”.

However, he was quickly reminded that his party held a pro-sars rally in Port Harcourt where they praised the then Rivers sars commander, Akin Fakorede.

Fakorede had a long-running battle with Governor Nyesom Wike who accused him (Fakorede) of being responsible for killings, kidnapping and armed robbery in the state.

However, chieftains of the APC staged a pro-sars rally calling for support for the dreaded police department.

Tonye Princewill and Dumo Lulu-Briggs, both governorship aspirants and big names in Rivers APC politics, were among the chieftains seen in a solidarity match for SARS on December 11 2017.

Others are Asita o Asita, a former deputy governorship aspirant of the APC who is now the chairman of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.

“We believe that there are bad eggs in SARS, just like you have bad eggs in politics, but that is not enough to throw them away,” Mr Chris Fineborn, the then publicity secretary of the party said.