The EndSars protest has been going on around the country throughout this week. While the protests have been largely peaceful, law enforcement agencies seem not to be on the same page with Nigerian citizens. From allegation of intimidation to even tear-gassing protesters, it’s been a weird week.
To better understand the why of the protest, let’s start with the history of Sars. The special antirobbery squad (sars) was created to protect Nigerian citizens after a wake of unprecedented armed robberies in the country. To prevent armed robbers from recognizing them, they wore plain clothes, carried guns, drove unmarked vehicles and put the fear of God in armed bandits. Their success made them the heroes of the people.
What changed?
However, as the autonomy of sars increased, things got out of control:
I mean way out of control:
In the past, Nigerians banded together to protest against this brutality and this prompted the Nigerian Government’s promise to either reform or scrap Sars, yet, nothing was done.
Nothing at all:
For the longest time, their activities largely went unchecked. However, constant stories of citizen harassment kept springing up in the news. This then led to a wave of agitation by Nigerians that enough is enough. And thus, started a wave of calls for a fresh peaceful protest.
Protesters gathered across the country to re-ask the government to uphold their promise to reform Sars.
Here’s what they met:
After a lot of social media outcry, their safety was finally guaranteed. And they were met by politicians.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Protesters slept in the cold without any protection.
2. Nigerians have made donations to feed protesters.
3. There was an emergency session today at the Lagos state house to discuss the way forward.
For now, as we wait for things to unfold. You can help by either joining a protest or talking about it. To find out how to help, this article here and here are good places to start from.
