the sars and their impact on nigeria
the special anti-robbery squad. (also known as the sars)
the special anti-robbery squad was created in 1992, as a branch of the Nigerian police force to combat the prevalent armed robbery crimes that were occurring at the time. it was originally formed due to the death of colonel rindam of the Nigerian army; he was murdered at the hands of the police in a checkpoint in lagos. when the Nigerian army heard the news of the death of their colonel they began to round up and search for all the police officers – many were said to have resigned or fled from the army. the three police officers who killed the colonel were subsequently arrested, however, due to the lack of police in security areas and ‘points of interests’ for robbers – criminal activity began to rise and the crime rate shot up to the roof. thus, the existence of the sars came about.
this of course seemed as a perfect idea in theory - a special protection force that would look after the vulnerable - however the group began to receive lots of attention and controversary as it began to become associated with ties to extrajudicial killings, police brutality, torture, robbery, kidnapping, motor vehicle theft and cattle rustling.
it pretty much became the antitheses of it was originally meant to be.
instead, of doing their jobs the sars have killed, tortured, profiled, intimidated and raped the people of Nigeria whom they were meant to be protecting. and the list doesn’t even stop there – reports of home invasions and framing to illegal organ trade and polluting bodies of water by disposing human remains are just a few on this list.
since the creation of the sars there have been many incidents surrounding them such as the fact in 2005 a sars operative killed a bus driver for failing to pay a bribe. the operative was then arrested and charged for murder – however the squad still continued to grow in numbers whilst becoming more corrupt and fraudulent. in fact, in 2010 amnesty international stated that they were suing sars over ‘human right abuse’. they had discovered that in borokiri, port harcourt, three bicyclists had been arrested and imprisoned them for over one week where they were "beaten every night with the butt of a gun and iron belt”. despite this the sars were still running and it was discovered that on 27th july 2010 – the sars and other police units had made a profit of ₦ 9.35 billion (roughly £45 million) just from extortion and roadblocks within the last 18 months.
and frankly it is disgusting. the fact that innocent people are being subjected to this type of persecution and exploitation is so inhumane and it just breaks my heart to see another country fall victim to a corrupt government establishment. and the sars have the audacity to deny these truths and cover up their actions unlawfully. this horrific behaviour continued throughout the years and in 2017 the Nigerian human rights activist Segun Awosanya created the inspiring campaign to demand a call for justice from the ruthlessness and exploitation of power created by the sars – he began the #endsars campaign.
which leads to now. on october 7th 2020, Nigerians began to start protesting the streets of their hometowns to eliminate this corrupt group that had been harassing their lives for the last 28 years. the #endsars movement was created to represent Nigeria’s protest against police brutality and the demand for change and reform from their government – beginning with the disbandment of sars. these peaceful protests and demonstrations soon began to capture the eye of their nation, and soon the world after two weeks of relentless marches and rallies. soon, people all over the world came together to unite with the people of nigeria and to stand with them. this amount of support on top of the courageous rallies taking place caused the government to finally take action and on october 11th 2020 the abolishment of sars was finally announced by the nigerian police force.
this of course, may seem like a success. and for many it may seemed like a success. however, that is not the case. there are still huge problems involving police brutality and their treatment to: low-income families, minority groups, the lgbt+ community, and minors. these ‘minorities’ are still being beaten, intimidated, threatened and humiliated due to their identities – especially the lgbtq+ community. and despite this prominent harassment – these incidents are rarely reported or brought to light.
in fact, on october 20th 2020, despite the revocation of sars, a huge massacre took place where several peaceful campaigners were shot by the Nigerian armed forces at the Lekki Toll Gate. allegedly, according to amnesty international, Nigerian authorities shut off the toll gate after the massacre to avoid evidence being filmed and they also shut off electricity and removed and cctv cameras !
this is unexceptable and harrowing. the fact that they think they can do something so horrendous and believe that they can get away with it sickens me to the core
we have to do something about this !
by sharing information and spreading awareness to friends and families we have to encourage more people to take part in our fight against injustices throughout the world.
donating to funds can also change the lives of so many – it helps provide for medicinal help and protest safety and even feeds those in need !
here are so helpful links which i hope can be helpful:
we need to remember this fight is not over – in fact we’re not even close to finishing it.
even though sars was disbanded in october – this is not the first time it has been disbanded or reformed. the endsars campaign began in 2017 and was again attempted to be reformed in 2018 – yet it took 2 years for it to finally shut down since then. and given the recent deaths of the peaceful protests it is unsure to predict what the future will now be like for Nigerians.
any help will be so impactful and can change the lives of so many.
and together we will stand strong, united and in solidarity with the Nigerian people.
