Nigeria tired of police violence

No matter how much President Muhammadu Buhari’s government proposes to do away with the controversial police unit, SARS, to find a way out of the crisis, it is unlikely to be enough. Protesters remain mobilized in Lagos, Abuja, Ughelli, Ogbomosho and in the 21 states of the country. An unprecedented fact, many are now daring to demand the resignation of the Head of State. Many observers wonder how far this protest movement can go, mainly carried by the youth of the south of the country and by women.

The discontent is not new. Police violence is rife in Nigeria. In 2014 Amnesty International published a report with the evocative title “Welcome to Hell”. Two years later, the organization this time published an X-ray of this special brigade against robbery (SARS). Amnesty International has documented at least 82 cases of torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial killings between January 2017 and May 2020 – the victims mostly males between the ages of 18 and 35. The SARS has existed since 1984, initially to fight armed robberies, today this unit is mainly accused of human rights violations, corruption, torture, arrests and extrajudicial killings. The #EndSars hashtag was first used in 2017 when videos of suspected abuse had already gone viral.

If the current mobilization began by taking a more classic turn – with marches, happy songs, dances – it has been on a whole different scale in recent days.

#EndSARS: the cry of Nigerian youth

It all started on October 3, with the posting of a video on social media, showing suspected SARS policemen gunning down a man in Ughelli, South Delta State. The video has gone viral in the country of 200 million inhabitants, the most populous in Africa, prompting the testimony of thousands of Internet users on the police violence of which they or their relatives are victims. “For years, Nigerian youth have been mobilizing against this police unit,” said Bulama Bukarti, of the think-tank Center for strategic and international studies (CSIS). But “this video reached thousands of people and led young people to take to the streets en masse,” he adds.

In a few days, the #EndSARS hashatg (end SARS) becomes one of the most shared in the world on Twitter, helped by the support of several Nigerian music personalities, such as Davido and Wizkid, to millions of subscribers on social networks.

The support of these superstars of the continent and within the African diaspora immediately gives a powerful visibility to the movement.

The first steps are first violently dispersed by the police. At least ten people are killed and hundreds more injured, according to Amnesty International. The violence feeds the sling a little more.

October 11 marks a turning point in the protest: there are more and more demonstrators inside the country, and several rallies are organized by the diaspora, especially in London. “The participation of the diaspora has had an immense impact, with Nigerian politicians fearing that a negative image will be conveyed outside the country,” Bulama Bukarti said.

Nigeria’s largest oil producer, Nigeria is heavily dependent on foreign investment, and its economy, which is preparing to enter a recession, needs international donors.

After the Nigerian stars, the movement enjoys international support: the American stars CardiB or Kanye West, the world football champion Kylian Mbappé and even the CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey are committed to their side on the networks.

Anger and frustration with disconnected leaders

Faced with the dispute, President Muhammadu Buhari announced on the evening of October 11 the dissolution of the SARS. His government promises a reform of the police, announces the creation of the SWAT, a new brigade that it wants “ethical” and in accordance with “the desires of the citizens”, and ensures that the agents accused of violence will be brought to justice. The arrested demonstrators are also released.

But these announcements do not calm the demonstrators, always more numerous. On the front line, women. They are the ones who organize, which will raise funds, and above all develop strategies to make the movement last. There are many who prefer to be away from the limelight, while others assume a more visible role. “Nigerians are skeptical of the government’s promise to end police abuse, when their previous promises to reform the SARS were nothing but empty words,” according to Amnesty International Nigeria Director Osai Ojigho.

This social conflict is also the symbol of the generational divide of a youth in the south of the country who is not reflected in its leaders. Muhammadu Buhari, 77, a conservative Muslim, heads a country where more than half of its 200 million people are under 30, and whose median age is 18.

When will the end of corruption and bad governance

The demonstrators call for a structural reform of the police, and demand, surprisingly, an increase in the salaries of the police officers. In Nigeria, “senior officers are known to maintain a perverse pyramid of corruption that demands that rank and file officers be poorly paid and transfer bribes extorted from citizens at the top of the chain of command,” according to Leena Koni Hoffmann , from the British think-tank Chatham House.

Some of the demonstrators also broadened their demands, and demand more freedom and social progress in this country which has the largest number of people living in extreme poverty in the world and where the youth unemployment rate is massive. “The protests snowballed and became an outlet for anger and latent frustrations,” said Hoffmann.

In the processions, the young people demanded Thursday a rise in wages, more jobs, the end of power cuts, the abolition of censorship and a better representation of the youth on the political scene.

As a result, on Tuesday, violent incidents broke out on the sidelines of the demonstrations, especially in Lagos where a 24-hour curfew was imposed. “The peaceful protests have degenerated into a monster that threatens the well-being of our society (…) I am imposing a 24-hour statewide curfew from 4 p.m. today,” said at noon on Tuesday. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Twitter.

The immense economic capital, Lagos, populated by 20 million inhabitants, had been totally paralyzed since the morning, its main roads blocked, and schools closed by the authorities the day before.

Several roadblocks were erected on the axes connecting the islands of Lagos to the rest of the city by bands of very angry young people who prevented cars from passing, noted an AFP journalist. No sign of the peaceful movement, which began eleven days ago in the large cities of the south of the country, was brandished at these roadblocks.

In the center of the city, a police station was set on fire in the morning in Orile Iganmu, according to several demonstrators joined by AFP, who blame the blaze on thugs. Several shots were fired, according to these sources.

Clashes also broke out in the federal capital Abuja, where the police have been deployed, an AFP journalist noted. Several houses were set on fire, thick black smoke rose above the city.

The day before, three people had died and several cars had been set on fire, according to the city’s police spokesman to AFP, Mariam Yusuf. Dozens of men armed with machetes and knives attacked the demonstrators, according to Amnesty International and witnesses. Since the start of the dispute, at least 18 people, including two police officers, have died, according to the international organization and the police. Young people plan to continue this unprecedented movement even if it means toughening up the tone.