End SARS

Not to be confused with protests about COVID-19, which is also related to a use of the acronym SARS.

End SARS
End police brutality
Date2020
Location
International, largely in Nigeria
Caused byKillings, assaults, and harassment by SARS officials in Nigeria; lack of freedom of expression
MethodsMass mobilization Protest, demonstrations, online activism, civil disobedience, marches
StatusConcluded
  • SARS unit dissolved on 11 October 2020
  • Protesting on 20 October 2020 led to several deaths.
Parties
Protesters
(no centralised leadership)
Casualties
Death(s)51 civilians,[1] 11 policemen,[1] 7 soldiers[1]

End SARS, widely written as #EndSARS, was a decentralised social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria that mainly occurred in 2020. The movement's slogan called for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police known for its long record of abuse against Nigerian citizens.[2][3] The protests originated from a Twitter campaign in 2017, using the hashtag #EndSARS to demand the unit's disbandment by the Nigerian government.[4][5][6] The movement experienced a resurgence in October 2020 following further revelations of the unit's abuses, leading to mass demonstrations across major cities in Nigeria, and widespread outrage on social media platforms. The hashtag #EndSARS accumulated over 28 million tweets on Twitter alone.[7] Solidarity protests and demonstrations by Nigerians in the diaspora and sympathizers occurred in many major cities around the world. Notably, the movement was predominantly led by young Nigerians[8][9] and expanded to include demands for good governance and accountability, amidst unprecedented hardship in the country.

Within a few days of protests, on 11 October 2020, the Nigerian Police Force announced the dissolution of the unit with immediate effect. The move was widely perceived as a triumph for the demonstrators.[10] However, it was noted in many quarters that similar announcements had been made in recent years to placate the public without the unit actually being disbanded, and that the government had merely planned to reassign and review SARS officers to medical centres rather than disband the unit entirely.[11] Protests continued accordingly, and the Nigerian government maintained a pattern of violent repression, including the killing of demonstrators.[12] International demonstrations in solidarity with those in the country occurred, and the movement also grew increasingly critical of Muhammadu Buhari's government response to the protests.[13]

SARS officers were alleged to profile young Nigerians, mostly males, based on fashion choices, tattoos and hairstyles. They were also known to set up illegal road blocks, conduct unwarranted checks and searches, make arrests and detain without warrant or trial, rape women, and extort young male Nigerians for driving exotic vehicles and using laptops and iPhones.[14] Nigerians shared stories and video evidence of how SARS officers engaged in kidnapping, murder, theft, rape, torture, unlawful arrests, humiliation, unlawful detention, extrajudicial killings and extortion of Nigerian citizens. A large number of the victims of the abuses of SARS were young male Nigerians.[15][16]

The End SARS protest movement was ultimately suppressed by the Nigerian military, leading to the death of several non-violent protesters at Lekki tollgate, Lagos.[17]

  1. ^ a b c "Nigeria protests: President Buhari says 69 killed in unrest". BBC News. 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020.
  2. ^ Kingsley, Omonobi; Erunke, Joseph (4 December 2017). "Anti-SARS campaign: IG orders investigation of anti-robbery squad". Vanguard. Nigeria. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  3. ^ "#EndSARS movement: from Twitter to Nigerian Streets". Amnesty International. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  4. ^ Salaudeen, Aisha (15 December 2017). "Nigerians want police's SARS force scrapped". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  5. ^ "End SARS as a Mob Project". This Day. Nigeria. 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  6. ^ Ogundipe, Samuel (3 December 2017). "#EndSARS: Police mum as Nigerians recount atrocities of Special Anti-Robbery Squad". Premium Times. Nigeria. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  7. ^ Kazeem, Yomi (13 October 2020). "How a youth-led digital movement is driving Nigeria's largest protests in a decade". Quartz Africa. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  8. ^ Busari, Stephanie (25 October 2020). "Nigeria's youth finds its voice with the EndSARS protest movement". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Nigeria's #EndSARS Protests Aren't Just Opposing Police Brutality – They're Opposing Neoliberalism". Jacobin. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  10. ^ "#EndSARS: Nigeria says Special Anti-Robbery Squad dissolved". Al Jazeera. 11 October 2020. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  11. ^ Ademoroti, Niyi (11 October 2020). "What It Means When the Police Say They are Dissolving SARS". BellaNaija. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  12. ^ Adediran, Ifeoluwa (12 October 2020). "Another #EndSARS protester shot dead". Premium Times Nigeria. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  13. ^ Makinde, Tami (16 October 2020). "#EndSARS protests in Nigeria show that the youth wants change, now". gal-dem. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  14. ^ Kazeem, Yomi (9 October 2020). "Young Nigerians are leading protests yet again to disband a rogue police unit". Quartz Africa. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  15. ^ "People's Experiences at the hands of SARS". End Sars (unofficial website). Archived from the original on 10 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ "Nigeria's SARS: A brief history of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad".
  17. ^ "Nigerian army 'shot and killed #EndSars protesters': report". 15 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2024.