Twelve months after, the Nigerian government has failed to meet all the five demands made by the youths during the ENDSARS protest. This was disclosed in a joint statement by Enough is Enough (EiE) and other civil society organizations including the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), The Interactive for Social Impact (The Interactive), and YIAGA Africa.
Recall that last year October, Nigerian youths in their numbers, both home and abroad took to the streets and used their social media platforms to speak against a unit of the Police Force, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) which became synonymous with arbitrary arrest, torture, extortion and extra-judicial killings of innocent citizens, particularly the youths.
The SARS unit was established in 1992 to fight crimes such as robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes. At inception, personnel of the unit carried out operations undercover without any government badge. One of the major successful operations of the unit was the arrest of the most wanted kingpin in 2017 – Chukwudi Onuamadike popularly known as Evans.
However, the unit became known for extortion, extrajudicial killings, blackmail, torture and everything horrifying.
Tired of such inhumane treatments and sorrowful experiences SARS has caused many youths and the failed attempts by the government to put an end to it, the youths took to the streets to demand an immediate end to the unit with their placards reading #ENDSARS. Nigerians in the diaspora – Canada, United Kingdom, United States also lent their voices to the movement.
In Nigeria, the protest took place in at least 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory. This happened every day for two weeks.
A week into the protest, the then Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu announced the disbandment of the SARS unit. Two days later, the IGP announced the creation of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), a new unit that will replace SARS.
This raised a lot of concerns among the youths. For one, it was not the first time the government has made a similar announcement about dissolving/overhauling the SARS unit. The government’s attempts date back to 2017.
Also, the establishment of the SWAT unit to replace the SARS in such a short time did not seem acceptable by the youths. Thus, the protest continued, with the youths outlining five demands popularly known as the #5for5.
The five demands by the youths were simple – for the government to release all the arrested protesters, to ensure justice is served and families of all victims compensated. The demands also included the establishment of an independent body to oversee the prosecution of officers, as well as the psychological evaluation of disbanded officers and increase of police salaries.
The government agreed to meet the demands and the IGP also ordered the unconditional release of all protesters. The National Executive Council (NEC) also directed all the state governors to establish judicial panels of inquiry to receive and investigate complaints of police and police-related extrajudicial killings.
It is now a year after that the youths made their five demands and the government committed to meeting them, but according to the statement by the CSOs, many of the demands still remain unmet.
While every other state including the FCT followed NEC’s directive by setting up judicial panels of inquiry in their respective states, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Yobe and Zamfara states did not.
The CSOs noted that of the 29 states that constituted their panels, Kogi state has not held any sitting to hear the cases of victims. As at the time of filing this report, a total of 2,888 petitions were received in all the states that established their judicial panel of inquiry and held sittings.
The group further noted that only 3 states have concluded sitting and submitted their reports, while 18 states are yet to submit their reports even though they have completed sitting.
Lagos state panel was extended to the 19th of this month to conclude their sitting and submit a report.
In less than five days, Nigerians youth will mark one year of the ENDSARS protest, particularly the remembrance of the youths that died during the peaceful protest and those that were killed by men of the Nigerian Army at Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.
Although the Nigerian Army has continued to deny this, the youths still hope justice will be served someday.
In the statement by the CSOs, Nigerians are using the opportunity of the one-year remembrance of the protest to ask the government to provide an update on what has been done to ensure that victims get justice and due compensation, as well as the steps that have been taken so far to improve the welfare of police officers and ensure that the police force is equipped psychologically to enhance civil interaction with citizens.