#EndSARS and Lekki Tragedy

 

A series of large-scale rallies against police brutality in Nigeria with the hashtag #EndSARS. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), an infamous division of the Nigerian Police with a lengthy history of mistreating Nigerian civilians, is to be disbanded, according to the government. The hashtag #EndSARS, which was used in a 2017 Twitter campaign to call for the Nigerian government to dissolve the unit, served as the inspiration for the protest's name. Following a resurgence in October 2020 in response to further discoveries of the unit's abuses, large-scale protests took place across all of Nigeria's major cities, accompanied by vehement criticism on social media. On Twitter alone, there have been about 28 million tweets with the hashtag. 

In several major cities throughout the world, Nigerians in the diaspora and supporters held solidarity protests and demonstrations. The protests are notable for being supported by a completely youthful Nigerian audience. Given the extraordinary hardship in the nation, the movement has since grown to include calls for effective and transparent governance.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a contentious police unit infamous for its alleged human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings, was the target of the first peaceful protest against police brutality in Nigeria that gave rise to the #EndSARS movement.

When a crowd of demonstrators gathered outside the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, a significant Nigerian metropolis, on October 20, 2020, tensions rose. Before the situation took a fatal turn, the protestors had been peacefully expressing their demands for police reform for several days.

The Nigerian military was reportedly stationed at the Lekki Toll Gate that day in the evening, according to sources. Security personnel allegedly started shooting at the unarmed protesters as night fell, causing chaos and panic. Much footage of individuals scurrying for cover and pleading for assistance was posted on social media after the tragedy, which received widespread coverage.

The Nigerian authorities initially denied having any part in the shooting, but when more evidence came to light, they eventually acknowledged that the military was in fact there. The specifics of what happened that evening, the number of fatalities, and who was responsible for the shooting, however, are still up for debate.

International condemnation of the incident at the Lekki Toll Gate helped the #EndSARS movement gain further traction, and rallies in support of the movement were organised in other locations around the world. The SARS unit was finally dismantled by the Nigerian government, but broader calls for police reform and compensation for the victims persisted.

The sad incidents at the Lekki Toll Gate made it clear that Nigerian police brutality and human rights abuses must be addressed, and they had a long-lasting effect on the political and social climate of the nation.