With a spike in misconduct and killings involving the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit in the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerians are calling for the disbandment of the squad with #EndSARS protests across the country.
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad, which was founded in 1992, has been linked to acts of extortion, kidnapping, unlawful arrests, illegal detentions, brutality, theft, rape, blackmail, and murder. Heart-wrenching videos, photos, and stories of SARS activities have been shared on social media, mainly involving young Nigerians who are tagged internet scammers for simply owning smartphones or laptops.
According to a 2020 report by Amnesty International, “torture is a routine and systemic part of police investigation in SARS; that many SARS stations use designated ‘torture chambers’ – special interrogation rooms commonly used for torturing suspects.”
On 3rd October 2020, a video showing a SARS police officer allegedly shooting a young and taking away his car in Ughelli, Delta State had trended on Social Media. Following a public outcry on Twitter, a social media campaign using the hashtag #ENDSARS was birthed to demand a scrap of the unit.
By the 8th of October 2020, the online protests had morphed into street protests which are being held simultaneously in diverse Nigerian cities including Lagos, Abuja, Ughelli, Ekpoma, Abeokuta, Awka, Portharcourt, Kaduna, Jos, and Ogbomoso. Nigerians in the diaspora have also joined the protests in the US, Canada, the UK, Zambia, South Africa, and counting.
Unsurprisingly, the Nigeria Police Force has disrupted the protests in some cities by firing bullets to the sky and teargassing peaceful protesters. On Saturday 10th October 2020, a bystander, Jimoh Isiaq, was shot and killed by the policemen dispersing #EndSARS protesters in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. He was unarmed.
The Nigerian Government had promised on multiple occasions to reform SARS without following through. This time, safe for a Press Statement by President Muhammadu Buhari promising to address the issue, the Nigerian Government is yet to respond to the demands of protesters.
However, technology has played a crucial role as major International news outlets such as CNN, Al Jazeera, and BBC Africa continue to cover stories of protests and some of the violent encounters between SARS officers and Nigerians citizens.
The demands of protesters are simple: disband the unit immediately and then, reform the Nigerian Police Force.