The Nigerian Youths protest is more than a clamor for an end to police brutality, but rather to growing frustration about the state of the economy.
Youths across the country, mobilized through various social media platforms have taken to the streets in the past few days to protest against the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which has long been accused of unlawful arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.
As with the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, for these young Nigerians, the protests have become about more than police brutality. They are about fixing a country’s weak governance and lack of accountability. They are about restoring hope.
The 5 Point Demand Of Protesters.
The protester's demands now appear to have widened to include calls for reforms across the country’s entire police system and they have come up with a 5 point agenda which include;1) Immediate release of all arrested protesters.
2) Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensations for their families.
3)Setting up of an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reported police misconduct within a
period of 10 days.
4) Carrying out psychological evaluation and retaining of all disbanded SARS operatives before they can be deployed.
5) An increase in police salary and adequate compensation.
Reactions On The Protesters Demand.
The police announced a new unit tagged the Special Weapons and Tactics team (SWAT) which effectively would take over the duties of the defunct SARS. Shortly after this announcement, social media was awash with a new hashtag #EndSWAT.About The Nigerian Police And Public Opinion Of Their Activities.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is the primary law enforcement agency in Nigeria under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police. Before 1930, there were regional police forces that were merged to form the NPF. The NPF over time has experienced endemic problems with recruiting, training, inefficiency, and indiscipline leading to widespread corruption which has resulted in a low level of public confidence.
Public perception of the Nigerian police is largely negative. There have been several calls and efforts geared towards a reform of the police force over the years but these have not led to any significant improvement in police service delivery.
Recently, state governments began to clamour for devolution of the police force to allow for the establishment of State Police.
A Police Reform Bill was proposed as an Act of the National Assembly on 30th May 2018 and was passed by the Senate on 17th April 2019. It was signed into law by the President this year. Insecurity remains one of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria today and the NPF is central to responding to these challenges.
Nigeria has been a proudly democratic country for 21 years, but its law enforcement and military retain many of the worst habits of a previous era. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is an elite, corrupt force involved in everything from citizen harassment and unlawful arrests to kidnappings and extra-judicial killings. Young Nigerians, particularly anyone with signs of wealth but no obvious links to power, are regularly targeted and “arrested,” and their only hope of release is paying an extortionate amount of cash.
The Protest Not Only About "ENDSARS"
The protesters who typically are youths below the age of 30 are a part of the Nigerian population that have never seen the system work. From the erratic power supply, widespread unemployment, poor healthcare, a poor educational system characterised by
incessant strikes, one can understand the growing frustrations in the minds of these young people. In our view, the Nigerian Government needs to see this as a strong signal to not only address the poor state of the economy but to prioritise the issues concerning the young people in the country.
Young Nigerians are now pushing back with a focus and determination that has perplexed the often complacent government of President Muhammadu Buhari. EndSARS is the biggest and longest-running series of national protests in a generation.
Organizers take advantage of the internet to raise awareness, counter misleading government messaging, and distribute food, drinks, and even umbrellas to protestors. Celebrities like Rihanna are bringing global attention. When the Nigerian government stymied the movement’s digital fundraising, organizers simply switched to bitcoin and raised even more.
Nigerian youths embarked on a peaceful protest tagged #EndSARS to demand the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit, as well as, other reforms in the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
The Birth Of End SARS
The #EndSARS movement dates back to 2017, where Nigerian youths used the hashtag to share their experiences on violence and assault perpetrated by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad. However, the movement only revived in early October, after a video emerged of police officers thought to be members of the SARS unit, allegedly killing an unarmed young man.
This prompted Nigerian youths to troop to Twitter, calling on the Federal Government for police reform with the hashtag, #EndSARS, #Endpolicebrutality, and many more. The hashtag trended continuously on Twitter as Nigerian youths aired their pain and experiences online.
A viral message broadcast on social media suggested men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad SARS had gunned down a Nigerian youth, snatched his car, and sped off with it. The person who recorded the video can be heard making frantic yells at anyone watching the video to see what had transpired.
As the video spread on Social media, the hashtag #ENDSARS started to garner momentum as more young people demanded an end to the brutal police unit that has for years brutalized young Nigerians.
As twitter raged on, reports indicate SARS officials stopped the young man, pushed him out of his vehicle, shot him, and went away with the vehicle.
As the video spread, several other young Nigerians, particularly those from the tech community recalled their experience and started lamenting on Twitter, escalating into a fury of outburst that eventually changed into one of the largest youth organized protests in the history of Nigeria.
As Social media protest raged on, Nigeria’s Minister for State for Labour, Festus Keyamo revealed the young man was not dead and shared a picture of him in a hospital with head wounds.
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