Police brutality, rascality and total disregard to the rule of law has been the subject of public discourse for an extended period of time.
Stories of Police officers abusing rights of individuals are no longer news to the ear of ordinary citizens who have acclimatized their mind to unconstitutional actions of those legally empowered to protect their fundamental human rights.
Protests against ill actions of Police officers have occurred in different parts of the world and Nigeria has not been left out.
Public outcry against police brutality began gaining traction in Nigeria when Amnesty International reported widespread abuses, including torture and mock executions in 2016.
In 2017, the #EndSARS hashtag emerged on Twitter now as X which saw activists, youth, and celebrities demand the disbandment of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police Force established in 1992 to combat armed robbery.
Over time, SARS became notorious for human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, extortion, and harassment, often targeting young Nigerians based on their appearance or possessions.
When activists and citizens began using the hashtag #EndSARS on social media to demand the unit’s disbandment, spurred by recurring reports of abuse that gained momentum in October 3 2020 after a video surfaced on showing SARS officers allegedly shooting a young man in Ughelli, Delta State, reigniting public outrage.
This led to peaceful protests starting October 8 in major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, with demands for SARS’s dissolution, justice for victims, and police reform.
Protests against Police brutality continued and escalated into a broader call for good governance and in October 20, 2020, live rounds of ammunition were fired at peaceful protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, killing at least 12 and injuring many, an event known as the Lekki Toll Gate shooting.
The aftermath of the lekki toll gate protest led to the formation of judicial panel of enquiry against police brutality and disbandment of SARS from the Nigerian Police but in reality members of SARS team were sent into different teams using different pseudo names to perpetuate more brutality.
Also see: Police Men Detained For Assaulting Man in Viral Video
Nigerians are still going through the same issues which led to the End SARS protest across the country as the leopard only changed its name and not it’s spurs
A recent video showed a man named Emmanuel Cletus who was abused physically because of an expired tinted glass permit and his refusal to pay One Million Naira to the police officers who flagged him down on the Igbo-Etche road in Rivers State.
His case is one amongst many Nigerians that have been arrested, beaten and locked up for no reason while others are shipped off to prison to be on awaiting trial list for crimes that they have no idea of.
This is a Clarion call to the leaders of the nation to wake up to their responsibility and ensure that the reforms in the Nigerian Police are not just on paper.
The police should be your friend but in reality the police are collecting money every evening in front of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area Headquarters instead of checking for drug traffickers and potential kidnappers.
We have police checkpoints even on some streets and junctions in Port Harcourt but pick pockets and one chance operators are having free rein to carry out their enterprise in the Garden City.
Vehicles are not checked for the purpose of security but based on the look of the driver and the flashiness of the car.
We Nigerians deserve better and with the Renewed Hope Initiative, we should have a reason to trust the Nigerian Police to safeguard us and not threaten us with fear, pain and brutality.
The Police Authorities especially in Rivers State must enforce discipline and return the police to become an institution that commands public respect and trust.
Other security institutions also have road blocks on the road, the police should not always be the one to be called out.
The police should be our friend because Nigerians deserve better.
