Police are supposed to protect us and look out for our safety. This fact, unfortunately, is not true in many places around the world. Police brutality, when law enforcement officers abuse the authority that they have by using undue or excessive force against individuals, has become far too common
The ENDSARS movement strives to address this issue. It is a decentralized social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria with a heavy focus on the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). SARS is a unit of the Nigerian Police, which was set up in 1992 to perform undercover operations against violent crimes. Although initially successful, the unit and its members started to gain a reputation for their brutality and known violations of human rights, treating their ‘detainees’ in inhumane ways. Some of the human rights abuses by SARS include the shooting of their detainees in the leg, mock executions and threats of execution, hanging and physical assault and a 2020 publication by the organisation Amnesty International claimed that there had been 82 cases of abuses and extrajudicial killings by SARS between January 2017 and May 2020. Members of the unit exploited the families of those they had detained illegally, usually young Nigerian men, by attempting to extort money from them.
On Thursday 8th October 2020, the second wave of the movement and protests broke out nationwide with pictures and videos of police brutality shared through the hashtag #ENDSARS on Twitter. Young Nigerians, activists and celebrities alike protested in order to see the removal of this corrupt branch of the police unit. The protestors made a list of five demands that they expected the Federal Government of Nigeria to meet by the 11th October 2020, including the release of those who had been arrested during the protests, that an independent body be set up to investigate the misconduct, retraining of the SARS operatives, an increase in the salaries of police officers and most importantly, justice and compensation for those who had lost their lives to the inhumane officers. In response to the protests, the government dissolved the SARS unit on the 11th October. However, this was not enough. This would be the fourth time that the end or dissolution of SARS had been announced with no further action taken to actually disband or reform the unit. The government, in the eyes of the citizens, had just made an empty promise and the protests continued.
Towards the end of October, the Central Bank of Nigeria and its Governor were about to freeze the accounts of those who were very prominent in the protests. Rinu Oduala, a 22 year old media strategist, was amongst many young Nigerian women who protested. She set up a camp outside the governor of Lagos’ office and was able to use her followers on social media to help those that were in need. Another activist, Modupe Odele, had her passport confiscated as a result of her offering legal aid to those who had been arrested during the protests. Aisha Yesufu has played an active role as an activist in Nigeria protesting against SARS, in addition to being the co-founder of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement working to rescue schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram Militants in 2014. Although there have been some very empowering women who have individually contributed to the ENDSARS protests, non-governmental organisations have raised $385,000 through means such as crowdfunding that has been spent on legal services, medical bills, private security in addition to daily refreshments. The Feminist Coalition has promised to use funds raised to support the victims and their families in addition to mental health counseling.
The ENDSARS protests are a cry for change to a corrupt and unjust system. The younger generation is doing their best to demand change and reform to the current system for those who fell victim to the system and for those who could potentially fall to the system. The protests have highlighted some very powerful women and have ultimately shown the unity and strength of the Nigerian people.
The ENDSARS movement strives to address this issue. It is a decentralized social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria with a heavy focus on the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). SARS is a unit of the Nigerian Police, which was set up in 1992 to perform undercover operations against violent crimes. Although initially successful, the unit and its members started to gain a reputation for their brutality and known violations of human rights, treating their ‘detainees’ in inhumane ways. Some of the human rights abuses by SARS include the shooting of their detainees in the leg, mock executions and threats of execution, hanging and physical assault and a 2020 publication by the organisation Amnesty International claimed that there had been 82 cases of abuses and extrajudicial killings by SARS between January 2017 and May 2020. Members of the unit exploited the families of those they had detained illegally, usually young Nigerian men, by attempting to extort money from them.
On Thursday 8th October 2020, the second wave of the movement and protests broke out nationwide with pictures and videos of police brutality shared through the hashtag #ENDSARS on Twitter. Young Nigerians, activists and celebrities alike protested in order to see the removal of this corrupt branch of the police unit. The protestors made a list of five demands that they expected the Federal Government of Nigeria to meet by the 11th October 2020, including the release of those who had been arrested during the protests, that an independent body be set up to investigate the misconduct, retraining of the SARS operatives, an increase in the salaries of police officers and most importantly, justice and compensation for those who had lost their lives to the inhumane officers. In response to the protests, the government dissolved the SARS unit on the 11th October. However, this was not enough. This would be the fourth time that the end or dissolution of SARS had been announced with no further action taken to actually disband or reform the unit. The government, in the eyes of the citizens, had just made an empty promise and the protests continued.
Towards the end of October, the Central Bank of Nigeria and its Governor were about to freeze the accounts of those who were very prominent in the protests. Rinu Oduala, a 22 year old media strategist, was amongst many young Nigerian women who protested. She set up a camp outside the governor of Lagos’ office and was able to use her followers on social media to help those that were in need. Another activist, Modupe Odele, had her passport confiscated as a result of her offering legal aid to those who had been arrested during the protests. Aisha Yesufu has played an active role as an activist in Nigeria protesting against SARS, in addition to being the co-founder of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement working to rescue schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram Militants in 2014. Although there have been some very empowering women who have individually contributed to the ENDSARS protests, non-governmental organisations have raised $385,000 through means such as crowdfunding that has been spent on legal services, medical bills, private security in addition to daily refreshments. The Feminist Coalition has promised to use funds raised to support the victims and their families in addition to mental health counseling.
The ENDSARS protests are a cry for change to a corrupt and unjust system. The younger generation is doing their best to demand change and reform to the current system for those who fell victim to the system and for those who could potentially fall to the system. The protests have highlighted some very powerful women and have ultimately shown the unity and strength of the Nigerian people.