#EndSARS

#EndSARS

The current crisis facing Nigerians has been brought to the forefront recently, with Nigerians worldwide, and with the help of celebrities, calling for an end to SARS.

SARS (the Special Anti-Robbery Squad) is a unit of the Nigerian Police Force established in 1992 in Lagos by Police Officer Simeon Midenda at a time when crime was on the rise. At the time the unit was responsible for covert operations, including the investigation and detainment of individuals involved with violent crimes; with SARS officers in plain clothes and unarmed.

In 2002 the Sars SARS was rolled out across 36 states, with its officers now armed. The unit became responsible for handling crimes related to robbery, firearms, vehicle theft and kidnapping.

Power abuse by SARS officers followed with reports of unlawful detention and extortion. The unit became became even more contraversial following evergorwing claims of extrajudicial killings, torture, extortion and abuse.

While being recognised on a wide scale globally in 2020, SARS has been the topic of controversy multiple years prior. In 2017 an online campaign was started calling for the abolition of the SARS unit and the #EndSARS movement has been building momentum since.

Since then multiple videos and posts have made their way around online detailing cases of harassment, physical abuse and unlawful detainment by officers. These videos and the call to end SARS sparked organisation of multiple peaceful protests in Nigeria from the 8th October 2020. As with most protests there are reports of hostile protestors partating in destruction and looting, however, the theme remains common.. A general contempt of governments and leaders.

On the 11th October 2020 the government announced that it would disband SARS. The Inspector General of the Nigerian Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced a new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to take the place of SARS, and that officers of the SARS unit would be redeployed to other police units.

Protesters remained unsatisfied with the response as such action had been promised before on multiple occasions (in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018) with no real changes being made and so protests continued calling for the following 5for5 demands to be met:

1. Immediate release of all arrested protesters

2. Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families

3. Setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation & prosecution of all reports of police misconduct (within 10 days)

4. In line with the new Police Act, psychological evaluation & retraining (to be confirmed by an independent body) of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed

5. Increase police salary so that they are adequately compensated for protecting lives and property of citizens.

The protests became about more than just the abolition of SARS with the youth also calling for nationwide reform due to hardship, large unemployment rates and high levels of poverty despite the nation’s wealth.

Osai Ojigho, the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria said:

“This is yet another lame attempt to rein in this unit of the Nigerian police which is notorious for the widespread torture and other ill-treatment of Nigerians. We have seen from bitter experience that past investigations into violations were either never carried out or marred by irregularities. To date, the Nigerian authorities have yet to show a genuine commitment to ending the lawless activities of SARS...Such abuses will only be prevented when SARS officers are held to account for their actions and face disciplinary or criminal punishment if they are found to be responsible for human rights violations.”

The protests by Nigerians throughout 21 states have been met by police with violence. Details of police use of tear gas, water cannons and gunfire against protesters as a means of dispersing crowds have emerged, resulting in the death of university student Jimoh Isiaq in Oyo State and Ikechukwu Ilohamauzo in Lagos. AMNesty reported 15 deaths between the 8 and 19th October 2020.

Police use water-cannon against protesters in Abuja, October 11th. Photograph: Abraham Achirga/Reuters

On the 20th October 2020 a round the clock curfew was declared in Lagos by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Oluand saying, "We will not watch and allow anarchy in our dear state"; and anti-riot police were deployed. On the 20th October 2020, at dusk, lights were shut off and armed men dressed in military uniforms opened fire against peaceful protestors sitting arm-in-arm and singing the national anthem at Lekki toll plaza in Lagos, resulting in the death of at least a dozen of the preststors. Videos and images of the attack quickly made their way onto social platforms of bloodied and wounded protestors and of emergency personnel who were turned away from the scene sparking outrage. The Nigerian Army denies reports that they were responsible for the shootings at Lekki toll plaza.

The BBC reports that:

“Protesters were waving flags that looked covered in blood - they told me that the Nigerian flag, usually green-white-green, turned green-red-green yesterday from all the killing. Many of them had been at the site of the shooting the night before and recounted horrifying stories of seeing other protesters shot before their eyes.”

Protesters continued to show up the following day with further reports of gunfire.

State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Oluand claimed that only one person had been killed during the protests and that 25 had sustained mild injuries and 2 were in intensive care but this statement was contradicted by a statement by speaker of the Nigeria’s parliament saying it was “unavoidable and painfully clear that there were a number of casualties.”

A statement made by the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, on the 22nd October 2020 addressed the concern of the international communities saying “..we thank you and urge you all to seek to know all the facts available before taking a position or rushing to judgment and making hasty pronouncements.” However, fail to address in totality the shooting of the protesters. What was clear though was his unnerving and threatening undertones in telling the youth to discontinue protests and asserting that undermining the law will not be tolerated.

Currently, the Nigerian Government has called for the regulation of social media platforms via a ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill’ and the ‘National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill’. This attempt at control and censorship would be devastating considering how large of a tool social media platforms, especially Twitter, played in drawing attention to the #EndSARS movement and events occurring in Nigeria.

The minister of information said:

“However, we must regulate social media in a manner that it does not become a purveyor of fake news and hate speech. We will not fold our arms to allow purveyors of fake news and hate speech to use the social media to destabilise the country.”

Under the proposed bills individuals can get fined up to 300,000 naira ($785; £600) and up to 3 years in prison for posting false information, information that affects national security or information that causes animosity between the population and government.

As is expected the social media bills have been met with much opposition, as it is an infringement of human expression, by citizens, human rights activists and organizations.