Young women in Nigeria share why they want to #EndSARS and reform the police
Young people protest SARS and police brutality in Calabar on October 12. (Courtesy of Mirabelle Morah)
Nigeria’s movement against police brutality became increasingly violent this week as soldiers opened fire on protestors.
Since early October, Nigerians have been protesting the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), an undercover federal police unit tasked with fighting violent crime. Widespread reports indicate that SARS officers have used their power to detain people for money or valuables, torturing and abusing those who resist. Amnesty International documented 82 cases of SARS brutality in the past three years, including “hanging, mock execution, beating, punching and kicking, burning with cigarettes, waterboarding, near-asphyxiation with plastic bags, forcing detainees to assume stressful bodily positions and sexual violence.”
While activists have demanded an end to SARS and police brutality for years, the death of a young man in Delta state during a police stop-and-search operation on October 3 caused nationwide outrage and increased momentum for the movement. In recent weeks, thousands of people have attended demonstrations in major Nigerian cities, including Abuja, Lagos and Benin City. Police have used excessive force on unarmed protesters since the demonstrations began. On October 20, soldiers opened fire on hundreds of protesters at Lagos’s Lekki toll gate. Videos show protesters peacefully singing the national anthem and praying just before the attack.
Nigeria’s youth — particularly young women — have been leading many of the efforts to organise and fundraise the movement against SARS and police brutality. Through social media, they’re sharing updates, alerting neighbours about local protests, crowdfunding to pay for protesters’ food, water and medical supplies and more. Social media has also become an important tool for activists to bring international attention to the attacks on protesters, like the shooting at Lekki toll gate. The #EndSARS hashtag trended around the world and the Nigerian diaspora has organised solidarity protests in Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Munich and more.
In response to pressure from protesters, the Nigerian Police Force announced on October 18 that they will dissolve SARS and reassign its officers. However, this pledge is not enough for many protestors. The government has said before that it planned to shut down the unit, but in reality just rebranded it. Organisers also want to see broader police reform beyond SARS. Protesters’ demands include psychological evaluations for reassigned SARS officers, release of those arrested at recent protests, better pay for police officers, compensation for victims of police violence and a policy to only use rubber bullets during civic demonstrations. Following the violence at Lekki toll gate, protesters are calling for investigations of the attacks in order to hold the perpetrators accountable.
We spoke to five young women in Nigeria to learn about their involvement in the #EndSARS movement and to hear what changes they want to see the government make to the police force and investigations.
“The protests have been going on for 12 days, and there hasn’t been a single day that protesters became violent. We didn’t take up arms. We didn’t fight back, not when we were teargassed, not when we were sprayed with hot water and not when we were shot at. The government tried to placate us, they ‘dissolved’ the SARS unit. We saw this for the ruse it was because two hours after the president called for that dissolution, members of the SARS unit shot and killed a protester. Now, these protests have morphed into something beyond #ENDSARS. We are calling for an end to bad governance in Nigeria.
On October 20, 2020 in Lagos state there was a state-sponsored massacre of Nigerian protesters. At the Lekki toll gate, the military, deployed to Lagos by the IG of Police, were responsible for the deaths of 11 confirmed peaceful protesters. At 1 p.m. the Governor of Lagos state declared a 24-hour curfew that would start at 4 p.m. They disabled the security cameras at the Lekki toll gate, in anticipation of the atrocities they were about to commit. As expected, people weren’t able to go home, so they gathered around the Lekki toll gate, sat on the ground, waved their Nigerian flag and sang the national anthem. Still, the military opened fire on them. They killed innocent Nigerians for daring to want a better Nigeria.
The next morning, October 21, 2020, the government tried to change the story. They are claiming people were only injured. If it wasn’t for Jack Dorsey and Twitter, the souls of those who died would never have been recognized.
My heart bleeds for my country. We have been shot at. We have been killed. And for what? We didn’t ask them to provide us the necessities: clean water, clean air and electricity. No. We asked them to allow us to live. Rather than heed our demands they killed us for exercising our constitutional rights.”
— Angela*
“We have been shot at. We have been killed. And for what? We didn’t ask them to provide us the necessities: clean water, clean air and electricity. No. We asked them to allow us to live. Rather than heed our demands they killed us for exercising our constitutional rights.”
“We often say in Nigeria that a closed mouth is a closed destiny so sòrò sókè abeg [please speak up]! It's time to speak up and speak out about police brutality on innocent Nigerians and all the ills that we have witnessed. I am proud of all Nigerians who have taken this stance, and how we have all banded and collaborated together to unite for a common good and protest peacefully. But if you are asking what I want or what we want? This is what we want. These are the #EndSars #5for5 demands:
1. The 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 and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct.
4. In line with the new Police Act, psychological evaluation and 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.
How can a police officer tell someone innocent, ‘I will shoot you and nothing will happen.’? That is wrong! The #EndSars protest in Calabar was peaceful as the police in the city made sure the youths protested peacefully without any problems, but this has not been the case in other states as peaceful protesters with nothing but cardboards and their voices have been attacked with tear gas, water and even had the police shooting at them. Here is a video I made of the protest in Calabar and other news clips. What I want is accountability and deep reformation not only in the police force but also throughout the Nigerian government and system.”
“The Nigerian police have special trainings that tend to make them aggressive when they are confronted with certain circumstances. Hence, regular psychological training should be given to the police. Moreover, workshops and virtual events that will teach them values and the importance of empathy should be organized. Nevertheless, Nigerian government can only reform the police by increasing their salaries and ensuring their well-being is prioritized.
The initiation of The Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) was a good idea because they were vested with the responsibility of assisting the police to curb crime in the society. Unfortunately, those employed into SARS abused their powers. The reality is that dissolving SARS is not the solution but reforming SARS is because if it is dissolved, another body will definitely surface, like Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT). Until proper orientation, good well-being and sincerity in the fight for corruption is achieved then we will rotate round the same circle.
The major problem affecting Nigeria is corruption and bad leadership. I feel delighted that we the Nigerian youths have decided to be at the forefront of revolution to make Nigeria a quintessential county for African countries.
Nigeria is in a mass hysteria right now; I feel extremely shattered watching innocent lives wasting because they want to be heard. What a genocide!”
— Eduek Nsentip (@edueknsentip)
“I do not believe that the government has committed to the end of this police brutality because there was no official public announcement and disbandment to that effect. This is not the first or the third time that police brutality keeps occurring. It is getting worse by the day!
We want the government to take these steps:
1. We want the government to release the arrested protesters.
2. We want justice for the deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families.
3. We want an independent body to be set up to oversee the investigation of all reports of police misconduct.
4. We want the police force to go through a psychological evaluation process (by an independent body) before being deployed.
5. We want the government to increase the salaries of the police officers, so they are well compensated enough for the work they are supposed to do.
6. We want the government to #ENDSARS #ENDSWAT.
We want a responsive and responsible government. The president has not had any official message for us all. He has said nothing about this! He doesn’t even act like he knows that there is chaos in the country. No response whatsoever.
Social media has played an enormous role in this fight by amplifying our voices in oneness of purpose and making it known to international bodies and organizations how our government is killing us at the moment. Social media has helped us reach one another and circulate information amongst one another easily. I lent my voice on Twitter and Instagram, and I also encouraged my email community to contribute one way or the other to the protest.
It makes me feel proud to see young people leading these movements, honestly! I see the same people that the president called ‘Lazy Nigerian Youths’ taking the lead to stop police brutality and bad governance and I cannot be more proud to be part of this generation!
I felt terrible and devastated to see protesters attacked. Worse to see that our government not only undervalues our human rights but also undervalues our lives, as they are killing young people for asking them to do what they are supposed to do: protect us! It is a depressing sight. Very depressing!”
— Aramide (@aramideakinti)
“I see the same people that the president called ‘Lazy Nigerian Youths’ taking the lead to stop police brutality and bad governance and I cannot be more proud to be part of this generation!”
“It felt really good for the government to scrap the controversial SARS group. The government has a role to play in training all officers because it’s scary that the person who was supposed to protect you is the person you’re afraid of. Social media has an important role to play in this fight. It lets people around the world know that this is what we’re facing and it also puts more pressure on the government to act fast. Seeing the youth in Nigeria lead this protest is amazing, knowing that we’re a generation that cares about our future. Unfortunately, some people have had to pay the price with their lives during these protests. I personally do not think any protester should be attacked as long as the protest is a peaceful one. Police brutality is something the whole world has to tackle together.”
— Hauwa Mohammed (@hauwah.b)
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