Protests in Nigeria: What’s Happening and why are people demonstrating against SARS?
By Libra’s 8
Protests in Nigeria
Nigeria is a country in Africa that has been having some troubles right now. Two weeks of nationwide protests against police brutality in Nigeria turned deadly on Oct. 20 of this year as security forces fired live rounds on demonstrators, killing a big amount of them. The decision to use military force to quell the demonstrations shifts politics into an uncertain phase in West Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, but first, we need to know what SARS is in order to better understand the topic. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad was created in 1984 to combat an epidemic of violent crime including robberies, carjackings, kidnappings, etc. While it was given a lot of recognition for having reduced brazen lawlessness in its initial years, the police unit was later accused of becoming a criminal enterprise that acts with impunity. SARS officers were rarely held accountable for their behavior. Other reasons why people in Nigeria are protesting is because they want their leaders to be accountable for their actions and end the common practices of graft and bribery that permeate the Nigerian government established.
Whether or not the Nigerian government decides to listen is up to them but in the meantime, a lot of people are being affected, kids, families, the people that are living there in poverty and the protests that are getting hurt trying to make a change in their country.
Want to further your research? Read this article by CNN