The Real Motive Behind the Nigerian Youth #EndSARS Protest

This article was originally published as a response to the question, “What is the real motive behind the Nigerian youth ENDSARS movement?” on Quora.

Chijioke was 20 years old in 2012 when he went for a child’s dedication. He was picked up at the venue and taken to what has been described as the most dreaded SARS unit in Nigeria, Awkuzu SARS.

When his family went to look for him, they were told he has been taken to the headquarters. When they got there, his mother spotted him being taken to the station and she said that is my only child.

The officer in charge of that station asked them to take her and the family out of the premises. Since then they haven’t seen Chijioke.

The next time they went, an officer in charge of the Unit (most Likely James Nwafor) boasted that he shot Chijioke and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Another officer then told his parents that it is possible he isn’t dead that the man (officer in charge) could just be bluffing. He then asked Chijoke’s family to bring some money to him.

The father brought some money and the officer said the money was too small. The father went back, sold his land, sold some of his properties, raised 3 million Naira, and gave it to the man. This man even had the effrontery to say that 3 million Naira was ‘chicken change’.

The most horrifying part of this story is that the man in charge, made Chijioke’s dad look for Chijioke’s body in the river of dead bodies; he made him turned every single corpse upside down searching for his son.

Like you must have guessed, Chijioke was not found. So, his parents visited the unit headquarters in Abuja to seek justice. But the State CID told them they will have to pay money to transport others down to the state where it happened

The story above is one of the many stories told during the candle night demonstration for fallen heroes of the #EndSARS protest across the country.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit under the Nigerian Police Force was charged with the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians. Sadly, it abandoned its duties over the years and has been unleashing terror on the citizens it ought to protects with its major targets being male Nigerian youths.

How do they operate?

The profile arrest, extort, maim, frame unjustly, and kill innocent Nigerian youths for just about anything.

Initially, people with tattoos, dreadlocks, dyed hair, (or any ‘funny’ hairstyle), young people driving Benz (or any expensive automobile), using iPhone, or wearing crazy jeans were SARS men’s primary targets.

They pick up youths who fit into this profile, accuse them of being Yahoo Boys (a slang for internet fraudsters in the country), and extort money from them. Those who are unable to cough out the amount of money they demand are remanded in jail or killed when the cell is filled up. Just so you would know, these killer police officers do not inform the parents of those arrested, so many parents assume their children were kidnapped or died in an accident.

SARS have however since graduated to arresting just about anybody. You are dressed responsibly and look like someone with a fat bank account, they arrest you, take you to the ATM machine where you withdraw money for them. People trying to avoid them while driving often times than not end up in a fatal accident.

Despite this horrific reign of the SARS men and the cries of Nigerians for help, the Government has done absolutely nothing. They kept insisting that the SARS men are doing their job of preventing crime in the country but still can prove it.

This menace gave birth to the #EndSARS protest in 2016. It started on Twitter after which citizens moved it to physical demonstrations. In 2017, it looked like the Government disbanded the SARS unit but soon again these killer men were on the streets like nothing happened. Again, in 2018 and 2019, the unit was announced to have been disbanded by the government but it seems like the Government has been disguising and playing citizens like fools.

Following a viral video on social media showing a SARS officer shoot a young Nigerian in front of a hotel while absconding with the young man’s vehicle — a Lexus SUV, the 2020 EndSARS protest began reemerged and this time massively.

Although it initially kick-started on Twitter, Thursday, October 8, 2020, saw Nigerian Youths massively take to the streets to begin protesting PEACEFULLY. We have requested that the government simply meet our 5 demands else we keep on protesting.

Government Response?

The Inspector-General of Nigeria Police announced the ban of SARS and other tactical units from mounting roadblocks, checkpoints, stop and search, and other routine and patrols. Then later announced SARS as a defunct unit under the police force.

Before we could finish saying jack Robinson, they announced the formation of a new unit- SWAT in a bid to deploy the disbanded SARS killers to a new unit instead of sacking them all.

But Nigerian youth are not having it and have continued protesting. Why? The five demands have not been met and the SARS men are still operating. Also, the unrepentant government has been sending armed thugs after protesters while threatening others via the phone.

Currently, over 15 protesters have been killed, many injured, with several others arrested.

Back to your question? What is the real motive behind the Nigerian Youths #EndSARS movement?

Nigerian youths just want to be safe and stop living in fear. We know that if we do not protest, we, our brothers, sisters, friends, or other family members could become the next victim of police brutality, unlawful arrest, or extrajudicial killings.

We want to be able to use our iPhone, drive our cars, dress as wish without being labeled a fraudster, arrested, extorted, killed, or locked up in jail unjustly.

We don’t want to lose our lives or be forever disabled because we were hit by a stray bullet.

We don’t want to pay money to an officer of the law to help us recover stolen items or take up a robbery case.

We want to help accident victims without being accused of murder if they wind up dead eventually.

We want to treat bullet wounds in the hospital when attacked without been labeled criminals.

We want rights to a fair trial.

We don’t want to be beaten and dehumanized to a point where we confess to a crime we didn’t do.

We want to go out in one piece and come back home in one piece.

We want a reform in the Nigerian police force. We are saying no to Police Brutality. We don’t want killer SARS men terrorizing us anymore.

We are not asking for too much.

We are not asking for 24 hours electricity, we are not asking for portable water, we are not asking for a good healthcare system, we are not asking for food security, we are not asking for a better education system, we are not asking for massive employment opportunities, we are not asking for better housing.

All we are asking for is the barest minimum. We simply want the government to value our lives. And we are well within our rights.

This is our real motive. Nothing more. #EndSARS