“Enough is Enough” the youth of Nigeria voice their oppression during protests.
By: Yovanna A. Cabrera Suarez
The Nigeria Police Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, better known as SARS, was created as a tactical police unit in 1992 to help combat armed robbery. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding SARS because of the police brutality linked to it. Amnesty International reported in June 2020 that people under SARS custody were “subjected to a variety of methods of torture including hanging, mock execution, beating, punching and kicking, burning with cigarettes, waterboarding, near-asphyxiation with plastic bags, forcing detainees to assume stressful bodily positions and sexual violence.” Many of the attacks committed by them have had no repercussions because they do not require these officers to wear uniforms or name tags that identify them. SARS feeds into acts of aggression and victims of oppression.
A video of a man being killed by SARS went viral in the first week of October. This sparked a worldwide movement on the internet. Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, wrote on Twitter “The SARS unit of the police was set up to confront violent crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping and other related crimes. However, the unit has today morphed into an oppressor of the Nigerian masses who strive every day for a better life.” The EndSARS movement has strengthened into mass protests all over the country, and it has given voice to the youth to fight against the injustice and oppression by the government.
The protests have transcended because of “… years of ongoing social trauma caused by inadequate healthcare systems and institutions of education, systemic corruption, nepotism, electoral fraud, poverty and more,” Yetunde Omede commented in an interview with CNN. The EndSARS movement has caught the attention of the world in the hope for Nigerians to get the proper social and governmental reforms. Protests have not stopped even though peaceful protestors are being killed for expressing their rights.
EndSARS has not only brought the country together, but it has changed Nigeria forever. Nigeria’s unjust economic structure and lack of access to necessities will no longer be tolerated. The youth want to feel safe and to prosper outside of the current educational and unemployment norms imposed by the government. International celebrity involvement in the movement has been an inspiration and has brought awareness to the situation Nigeria is facing. Amnesty International has also served as an important tool to express the injustice brought by the government.
Nigeria’s government continues to fail in recognizing the human violations sustained by the SARS. They have answered none of the demands made in the protest or offer a plan of action to make the reforms. The government continues to say they have banned the tactical police since 2017, but the SARS continues to harass the citizens in the streets. The protests have continued both on social media and across the country. Nigeria’s government has taken upon themselves to bring more violence to its residents than the one they created to protect against. Resistance governs the streets of Nigeria today, hopefully the movement will continue to create a political consciousness for the next election.