For the umpteenth time, members of the Special Antirobbery Squad (#EndSARS) shot dead a Kolade Johnson and harassed a Nigerian youth because he drove a Benz, uses an iPhone, carries a laptop, and wears tattoos or dreadlock.
The ridiculous and absurd criteria this notorious unit of the Nigerian Police uses to profile prospective victims.
At the end of their SARS ordeals, friends of the dead victims or the victims themselves who barely escaped being shot go on social media to share their horrific experiences. As expected, #EndSARS trends on the street of Twitter.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu will react and announce that they have banned SARS from stop and search duties. Then #EndSARS disappears on social media until another SARS killing.
SARS killings/harassments/impunity and government inaction went on for too long
Before the latest #ENDSARS agitation, the IGP had previously banned SARS from stop and search duties on three different occasions.
Regardless, it did not stop SARS operatives from murdering and abusing Nigerians. It got to a point that they confidently tell their victims I go kill you and nothing go happen. That is the level of impunity they have.
The fear of SARS who move around in mini buses and Toyota Sienna in search of random victims to arrest is the beginning of wisdom.
The government worsened the demand to #EndSARS by only banning SARS on paper while they continue to cause and wreck havoc on the streets.
In between, nothing usually happens to the murderous/killer and trigger happy SARS operatives.
Taking the protests off the streets of Twitter to the streets
In the past few days, there have been protests across Nigeria for the government to #ENDSARS.
It was just a matter of time before the online protests go offline after endless promises to ban SARS. Perhaps this is the time.
Social media influencers, celebrities and users were tired of the government’s rhetorics to ban SARS.
They lend their voices to #EndSARS on social media and they also went a step further to protest in Lagos, Abuja, Osogbo, Delta, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Benin and a host of other cities.
The likes of Falz, Runtown, Mr Macaroni, Tiwa Savage, Toke Makinwa, Small Doctor, Rinu, Dija, Nasty Black, Pelumi, Sydney Talker and many others led protests.
To show the seriousness of the #EndSARS protesters, some had to pass the night at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja to drive home their demand.
Government’s lethargic reactions to #EndSARS
Although the reactions of the Federal and States governments has been lethargic, we have seen certain actions taken.
The Lagos House of Assembly had an emergency sitting on Friday at the behest of the protesters. They discussed the demands of the #EndSARS protesters.
Desmond Elliot, the member representing Surulere Constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly said: “It has gone beyond having hotlines or doing reforms. As the Deputy Speaker rightly said, we really need to look into it.
“The IG of police seriously must consider. Nigeria Police are working for the people. If the (SARS) unit is working for the people and the people are calling for it to be disbanded, then let us do what they are saying.”
While insisting that arresting people because of their appearance is wrong, the lawmaker, however, admitted that there are still some bad eggs in society.
“The truth is, you can’t just arrest people on the road because of the hair they wear,” he explained.
“That is not to say that we do not have bad people but because of the lack of training on how to deal civilly with people, we now come to have what SARS is today.
“So, I am in alignment with the prayers of the deputy speaker and I feel that we should do that expeditiously.”
President Buhari speaks:
Offline + Online campaign: A recipe that works and can lead to meaningful social change
The Arab spring kicked off on social media but the maximum impact was not felt until it hit the streets of Tunis, Algiers and Cairo. They were consistent and their eyes never went off the ball-they needed change.
Nigerian youths, celebs and social media users/influencers have now realised that for a social campaign to have any sort of impact, it has to happen both online and offline.
The protesters are winning in the two fronts. Online #EndSARS #EndSarsProtests #EndSARSImmediately #EndPoliceBrutalitynow #LagosProtests trended (and it is still trending) all over the world.
International news agencies have amplified the protest that top countries are responding and telling the government to respect the right of Nigerians to protest and accede to the demands to #EndSARS.
The last part is consistency. The protesters may be fatigued at some point because of no adequate response from government. But they must not lose sight of the message which is to #EndSARS.
What’s next for #EndSARS
So far, the #EndSARS has been relatively peaceful except for one or two Incidence. The effect has also been felt by government at all levels.
Hopefully, the voices behind the protests won’t suddenly evaporate allowing SARS to kill and harass young Nigerians. The important thing here now is consistency.
Protest Pictures
Image + video credit: Twitter
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