Amid escalating protests against police brutality across Nigeria that led to at least 49 deaths yesterday, Lagos has been placed under a 24-hour curfew. Taking to Twitter, Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that the curfew was designed to bring an end to “mayhem” and “anarchy” in “our dear state”. He also made a ‘passionate’ public plea from the “depth of [his] heart to Nigeria’s “teeming youths, to our protestors, that you should please give peace a chance”.
Lekki toll gate as been attack by military men, we need help #EndSARS pic.twitter.com/DSppEe7JWg
— bhello adhams (@bello_adams) October 20, 2020
The country has been beset by continued nationwide protests since October 7 even after demonstrators achieved their purported aim of making authorities disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit. The movement appears to have morphed into more all-encompassing demonstrations against corruption and unemployment.
The SARS formed in 1992 by Simeon Danladi Midenda, a former police commissioner to bring an end to rising armed robbery. Officers in the unit war plain clothes and did not wield weapons in plain sight, allowing them to operate with a sense of anonymity. At the same time, however, this layer of ‘invisibility’ prompted the squad to conduct operations and act extra-judicially.
In 2018, erstwhile President and current Vice President Yemi Osiband ordered an investigation into and a reform of the unit. Likewise, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) appointed a new head for the unit, and renamed it the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS). However, this did little to quell the impunity with which the officers in the unit operated, ultimately culminating in widespread protests this October.
Until now, the government has agreed to replace the SARS with the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team and abolish the SARS unit entirely. At the same time, SARS personnel will be required to undergo new training, and psychological and medical examinations. These personnel will not be allowed to join the new SWAT unit. In addition, the SWAT will be “strictly intelligence driven”, won’t be allowed to conduct routine patrols, and can no longer arbitrarily seize personal property.
Yet, citizens fear that this is just a rebranding exercise, with SARS now just operating under a new name. Protestors are unconvinced by the government’s efforts to address police brutality and overreach.
In the aftermath of the disbanding of SARS, protestors have attacked correctional facilities and freed close to 2,000 prisoners. As a result, the IGP announced that he was deploying anti-riot police across the country, and the police said that it would “exercise the full powers of the law to prevent any further attempt on lives and property of citizens”.
The escalation of these protests resulted in armed forces opening fire on over 1,000 protestors at Lekki Toll Gate yesterday, killing at least 49 and injuring many more. The army has responded to these reports by calling them “fake news”. However, they have been independently verified by organizations such as Amnesty International. Moreover, the Lagos State Governor has ordered an investigation into the event.
Fake News!!! pic.twitter.com/4c1LHhRD7s
— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) October 20, 2020
While we continue to investigate the killings, Amnesty International wishes to remind the authorities that under international law, security forces may only resort to the use of lethal force when strictly unavoidable to protect against imminent threat of death or serious injury.
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) October 20, 2020
Doctors have already said that the nation’s healthcare system is already ‘overstretched’ due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus called on the federal government to address the demands of protestors as it would be overwhelmed by an onset of gunshot wound victims.
Furthermore, the latest incident has received international attention, with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton, and others all calling for an end to police brutality.
I condemn the escalation of violence in Lagos, Nigeria, which has resulted in multiple deaths & injuries.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 21, 2020
I call for demonstrations to be peaceful and for an end to reported police brutality & abuses. Authorities must investigate these incidents & hold perpetrators accountable.
I’m calling on @mbuhari and the @hqnigerianarmy to stop killing young #EndSARS protesters. #StopNigeriaGovernment
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 20, 2020