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Our Membership

#EndSARS

A Social Movement By Nigerian Youths Demanding an

End to Police Brutality and Good Governance

Kabir Adamu MSyI

armed SARS officers moved around in mufti, conducting actions
including extortion and extra judicial killings and intimidating
the people they should be protecting.

What is #EndSARS?
#EndSARS is a social movement mainly by Nigerian youths
against police brutality in Nigeria. The movement calls for an
end to a notorious police tactical unit, the SARS, which has
a long record of abuses. The protests started in 2017 as a
Twitter campaign using the hashtag #ENDSARS to demand the
Nigerian government disband the unit. There have been several
times in the past since 2017 when the movement started that
it campaigned for either a reform or disbanding of the SARS
For about 14 days in October 2020, a significant number of unit. In all these instances, the government promised to accede
Nigerian youths mobilised under the #EndSARS movement and to the calls and made pronouncements on this. However, no
marched on the streets or campaigned on social media to call significant reform of the SARS took place and the allegation of
for an end to police brutality as well as demand police reform brutality, extortion as well as extra judicial killings by this unit
and ultimately good governance. As the protests and campaign continued.
continued, a counter movement emerged involving armed
youths tagged “hoodlums” who initially attacked the protesters This quote from the End of Visit Statement of Agnes Callamard,
and later police and correctional services facilities, government the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial,
buildings, commercial activities and malls as well as houses of Summary or Arbitrary Executions released on 02 September,
prominent politicians were vandalized, destroyed or set on fire. 2019 captures the allegation against SARS:
And more recently, a trend emerged where warehouses and
residences of politicians storing food and other valuables were “There are countless allegations of excessive use of force by
raided and these items stolen. the police force. Officers of the unit established in 2006 to
fight violent crimes including armed robbery and kidnapping
What is SARS? (Special Anti Robbery Squad or SARS) have been accused of
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is a Nigeria Police human rights violations, including widespread torture, in some
Force tactical unit that was founded in 1992, to combat armed cases leading deaths in custody, and extrajudicial killings. The
robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes. Over the years, majority of the cases occurred in Southern Nigeria. A social
SARS metamorphosised and took on several other duties media campaign called #ENDSARS was launched in November
including financial fraud. In addition, its operational procedures 2017, and led to street protests in some parts of the country.
became vague and included stop and search. It was generally The movement prompted the immediate past Inspector General
believed that SARS changed into an oppressive force, abusing of Police to call for a reform of SARS. In August 2018, the
the human rights of Nigerians, especially the youths. Heavily- Acting President directed the NHRC to set up a Special Panel to

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