Shittu Daniel
JSS3D
COMPUTER ASSIGNMENT
Assignment on End sars protest
End SARS is a decentralised social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in
Nigeria. The slogan calls for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of
the Nigerian Police with a long record of abuses.[2][3] The protests which takes its name from the slogan
started in 2017 as a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #ENDSARS to demand the disbanding of the unit
by the Nigerian government.[4][5][6] After experiencing a revitalisation in October 2020 following more
revelations of the abuses of the unit, mass demonstrations occurred throughout the major cities of
Nigeria, accompanied by vociferous outrage on social media platforms. About 28 million tweets bearing
the hashtag have been accumulated on Twitter alone.[7] Solidarity protests and demonstrations by
Nigerians in diaspora and sympathizers occurred in many major cities of the world. The protests is
notable for its patronage by a demographic that is made of entirely young Nigerians. [8][9]
Within a few days of renewed protests, on 11 October 2020, the Nigerian Police Force announced that it
was dissolving the unit with immediate effect. The move was widely received as a triumph of the
demonstrations.[10] However, it was noted in many quarters that similar announcements had been
made in recent years to pacify the public without the unit actually being disbanded, and that the
government had merely planned to reassign and review SARS officers to medical centres rather than
disband the unit entirely.[11] Protests have continued accordingly, and the Nigerian government has
maintained a pattern of violent repression including the killing of demonstrators.[12] There have been
international demonstrations in solidarity with those happening in the country, and the movement has
also grown increasingly critical of Muhammadu Buhari's government response to the protests.[13]
SARS officers have been alleged to profile young Nigerians, mostly males, based on fashion choices,
tattoos and hairstyles. They were also known to mount illegal road blocks, conduct unwarranted checks
and searches, arrest and detain without warrant or trial, rape women, and extort young male Nigerians
for driving exotic vehicles and using laptops and iPhones.[14] Nigerians have shared both stories and
video evidence of how officers of SARS engaged in kidnapping, murder, theft, rape, torture, unlawful
arrests, humiliation, unlawful detention, extrajudicial killings and extortion of Nigerian citizens. A large
section of the victims
EndSARS protesters in Lagos
On Tuesday, 13 October 2020, Ifeanyi Okowa the Governor of Delta State said that the #EndSARS
protest is a result of failed leadership. The Governor also announced the constitution of a five-member
Police Complaints Committee with two representatives from youth organisations.[71] The Governor had
earlier appealed to the police to desist from harassing the protesters as people were free to express
grievances in a democratic dispensation.[72] On Tuesday, 13 October 2020, the Public Relations Officer
of the Nigerian Police Force, Frank Mba, announced the setting up of a Special Weapon and Tactics
Shittu Daniel
JSS3D
COMPUTER ASSIGNMENT
Team (SWAT) to replace SARS. The new outfit, which is expected to take off within the next 7 days, will
undergo psychological and medical evaluation to determine their fitness.[55]
The protest was taken to the National Assembly. Moving from Banex junction Abuja, protesters
peacefully marched to the junction leading to the National Assembly around 2 p.m. where they were
stopped by soldiers who violently resisted their movement and injured some protesters in the process.
[73] ARISE TV news crew who were recording the fracas at the entry of the National Assembly were
attacked. Ferdinard Duruoha was one of the crew members who were assaulted while Francis Ogbonna
a cameraman with the same news outfit was attacked the previous day while covering the
announcement of dissolution of SARS by the Inspector General of Police.[74]
The Governor of Lagos State promised to set up a two hundred million naira (N200M) fund for residents
of the State who have been victims of police brutality.[75] He met with President Muhammadu Buhari
to present the demands of the protesters in Lagos State.[76] A video surfaced from this meeting
showing the President chuckle as the Governor Sanwo-Olu talked about his state's compensation fund
for victims. The President's actions met a lot of negative criticism from Nigerians.[77]
According to a press release signed by spokesman of the president, Femi Adesina the Nigerian
Government had agreed to the five demands of the End SARS protestors. The agreement was reached at
a meeting organised by the Office of the Inspector General of Police and National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) was attended by stakeholders which include officials of Ministry of Police Affairs
and Police Service Commission, representatives of Civil Society organisations and activists from the
entertainment industry and #EndSARS movement.[78][79]
The protests continued in Lagos. Young people carrying placards denouncing SARS and appealing for an
end to police harassment, extortion and brutality blocked the Lagos-Ibadan expresswayms of the abuses
of SARS have been young male Nigerians.[15]
