One year after the EndSARS protests, Nigerians are in no hurry to forget the incidence, especially as they are yet to see promised police reforms as officers continue to use questionable tactics to harass and intimidate citizens, particularly young people working in a thriving tech industry.
Officers of the supposedly disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS) still appear to roam streets in Lagos and other parts of the country. The Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-olu, set up a committee to review the EndSARS panel’s report and produce a “white paper.” No one has been held accountable.
It took the visit by the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to shake the government officials from their slumber, and remind them of the need to act on the panel report which had just come out in order that justice be served.
Blinken arrived in Nigeria days after a landmark, yet sober event: a panel set up by the Lagos state government to investigate violence against anti–police brutality protesters in October 2020 determined that security agencies in fact abused their authority.
The police and army “shot, injured and killed unarmed helpless and defenseless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem, and the manner of assault and killing could in context be described as a massacre,” the report concluded.
In an interview with Channels TV, Blinken said the existence of the report was “a very important and powerful thing because it brings transparency to allegations of abuse by the security forces.” But the report must be followed up by actions from the state and federal levels, he said.
Blinken suggested two follow-up actions: the enactment of reforms to avoid a repeat of the violence, and work by Nigeria’s leaders to increase trust between citizens and security forces, and the state by extension. Accountability and justice would be key.
“That trust is so vital because, of course, Nigeria faces very difficult security challenges in virtually every part of the country,” Blinken said.
Blinken also visited Kenya and Senegal; an indication by the Joe Biden’s Presidency of How important Africa is to the US foreign policy.