On this day in 2020, Nigeria was thrown into mourning after security operatives shot at peaceful protesters at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos State.
The youth-led protests against police brutality, with hashtag #EndSARS, brought Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, to a standstill after the killing of a young man by a police unit.
They specifically demanded that the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force be banned.
Although the protests started out peacefully across the country, it was later hijacked by thugs who began to destroy government facilities and inflicted injuries on protesters.
The protesters’ demands were: immediate release of all arrested protesters; justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensations for their families; setting up of an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reported police misconduct within a period of ten days; carrying out of psychological evaluation and retraining of all disbanded SARS operatives before they can be deployed; and the increase of police salary.
Two years after the protests, what has changed? How many of the demands have been met?
According to a report by Amnesty International, over 40 protesters are still languishing in prison, and panels set up to investigate the police brutality have failed to deliver justice to the victims.
Two years after the #EndSARS protests, over 40 protesters are still languishing in prisons across Nigeria, Amnesty International said today, while panels set up to investigate police impunity have failed to deliver justice to hundreds of victims of police brutality.
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) October 20, 2022
Also, reports verified by Amnesty International state that the investigative panels set up across the country were marred by prolonged adjournments, intimidation of witnesses, and police officers refusing to appear as witnesses.
In some states, panels failed to sit at all, while others opted to go on break indefinitely.
One year after the National Economic Council chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo directed states to pay compensation to the victims of police brutality in the country, many states have yet to comply with the directive.
Reports reveal that only Lagos, Osun, Ekiti and the Federal Capital Territory have complied with the NEC resolution.
President Muhammadu Buhari, during a Federal Executive Council held on 15 December, 2021, approved what was described as ‘peculiar allowance’ for the police to commence from January 2022.
According to findings, the new allowance for the police that was announced by the government in 2021 has taken effect, but did not measure up to what was promised.
Since the #EndSARS protests, many people who have attempted to exercise their right to peaceful protest have repeatedly faced threats, harassment, and intimidation, indicating that police brutality still exists in Africa’s most populous nation.
The organisers of #EndSARS have demanded among others the release of all incarcerated protesters, adequate compensation for people wounded and families of those killed.
They also demanded full implementation of reports of judicial panels of inquiry, open trial of all security personnel involved in the shooting at Lekki and also a public apology for the shooting.
Photo source: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters
