More than three years after the #EndSARS protest against police brutality erupted in major Nigerian cities, at least 15 protesters are still in police in detention, Afrobarometer said in a new report.
The youth-led protest was the largest anti-government movement in Nigeria’s modern history and forced the government to disband the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The protest got to a head when Nigerian forces shot and killed protesters at the Lekki Toll gate in Lagos on October 20, 2020.
Some of the protesters arrested in major Nigerian cities are still in detention, Afrobarometer said in the report.
“At least 15 protesters remain in arbitrary detention, and reports of police abuses continue unabated,” the report said.
Amnesty International said last October that the protesters still in detention were being held without trial in Lagos. It said some of them were subjected to torture.
“I am innocent. My life has been shattered. I need my liberty,” Sodiq Adigun told the NGO, saying he had been detained without trial since 2020.
Military and authorities in Nigeria have always denied that live rounds were fired at the protesters.
But Amnesty maintained that at least 12 people were shot and killed at the toll gate.
Despite the disbandment of SARS, police brutality and extortion are still rife.
Earlier in the month, three policemen were accused of extorting 3,000 USDT (about US$3,000) from a man arrested in Abia State in southeast Nigeria. The policemen later dumped the man in Port Harcourt, hundreds of kilometres away.
Police violations are not limited to suspected criminals, public protests against the police and are abound in other parts of Africa, Afrobarometer said.
The report stated that these violations also occur during elections, health emergencies, and routine citizen police encounters such as traffic stops.
“Police brutality and extrajudicial killings have been reported in other African countries as well, from Guinea to Kenya and Senegal to Sudan,” Afrobarometer said.
“These killings were reported during the enforcement of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2021.”
