Last year October 2020, thousands of Nigerian Youths gathered to organise a protest around #ENDSARS – the mass action calling for a complete ban of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police Force.

SARS was set up in the mid-1990’s to combat incidences of armed robbery, however, over the years, the unit metamorphized into a force associated with harassment of innocent citizens, extortion at gunpoint and extrajudicial killings of suspects.

The protest had an overwhelming participation of Nigerian Youths who demanded that the Federal Government should abolish SARS, provide justice to victims of police brutality and reform the police unit.

The demands widened as a result of the pervasive failure of the government to deliver equitable economic prosperity. The enraged youth expanded its demands by calling out the law enforcement agency to respect the rule of law and an emergent democracy.

The message of the protest is simple and straightforward that the Nigerian Youths want to take back their country from the entrenched political order that they believe has not served their interests.

Against this background, the #ENDSARS protests have become a symbol for broader resentment as the ENDSARS hashtag becomes prominent. Thus, Nigerian Youths held a commemorative protest in some States in Nigeria like Lagos, Abuja and Oyo to celebrate a one-year memorial of the famous call for freedom by Nigerian Youths.

#endsarsnow #endsarsmemorial #endsarsbrutalityinnigeria #endsarsprotest #Ourdemandissimple #Longliveournation #Nigeriashallriseagain #wewillnotforget

– Rose Akinfehin