#EndSARS is echoing all over Nigeria on social media. Even as the country’s most hated police force is being shut down, protests continue. Two civilians have already been killed. The president tries to calm things down.
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After more than a week of protesting, it seemed as if young Nigerians had gotten their way: police announced on Sunday via Twitter indicated that the controversial police unit SARS (‘Special Anti-Robbery Squad’) would be disbanded. The members would go to work elsewhere within the police. Critics, who accuse the police of torture and extortion, say it is old wine in new bottles. In the protests that followed, the police opened fire. At least one was killed on Monday. Four people were injured. An officer was also killed in the protests.
President Muhammadu Buhari acknowledged in a televised speech that same day the “excessive violence” of the police force. He promised that police officers who misbehave will be brought to justice, but also stressed that reforming the police force is “a process.” ‘Dissolving SARS is only the first step.’ At the same time, he also referred to the violence within the police unit as the result of ‘a few bad apples’. Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu responded Monday by banning the use of real bullets by police. He also asked the protesters to take a ‘break’.
It is far from certain whether the demonstrators are satisfied with that. In the past, the police announced similar reforms, but this was little noticeable in the streets. ‘We’re not falling for this. We want to know when they will turn in their badge and uniform, ”said Akunna Nwaogwugwu, a Nigerian demonstrator to Reuters news agency.
Complaints for years
The street protest started online in early October with the hashtag #EndSARS. It has been circulating since 2017, but a recent video of police brutality lit the fuse. Young Nigerians massively shared the images of a young Nigerian being shot by a SARS agent. Under the hashtag, they shared their own experiences with the police and demanded the end of the hated police unit. SARS was founded in 1992 to fight violent crime, but gradually began to ‘mirror itself more and more towards the gangs it served to fight,’ according to The Guardian.
Online, the case received worldwide acclaim, after well-known American musicians such as Cardi B, Trey Songz and Kanye West spoke out. The Nigerian world star Burna Boy also supports the demonstrators.
Young people in particular feel targeted by SARS. So testifies a 28-year-old in it NRC how the police randomly arrests young men in his neighborhood. ‘Almost any Nigerian can tell you stories like this. We are tired of the harassment, ”he said. Several women have also testified about sexual violence.
Human rights organization Amnesty International already published in 2016 a comprehensive report about the torture practices within the hated police unit. This also refers to promised reforms two years earlier. “There are no positive consequences of reforms for the time being,” the report concludes.
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