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Nigerians are not appeased and they want more than a mere announcement that SARS has been dissolved.

SARS has 'officially' ended, but Nigerian protesters are not backing down | Pulse Nigeria

Samson Toromade

<h1>After years of relentless campaign against the culture of abuse by officers of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) of the Nigeria Police Force, the notorious unit has been officially dissolved.</h1>

<p>Nigerians have campaigned for years to have the unit scrapped after numerous well-documented incidents of abuse including harassment, extortion, torture, and extra-judicial murder.</p>

<p>The latest outrage that sparked over the past week led to widespread protests across many states in the country, the most publicly-charged demonstrations against the unit.</p>

<p>The initial days of the protests forced the Inspector-General of Police, <strong>Mohammed Adamu</strong>,<strong> </strong>to announce <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/2-fsars-operatives-arrested-as-igp-bans-fsars-others-from-routine-patrols/6dg8tqw">a number of restrictions to their operations</a> on October 4, 2020.</p>

<p>The reforms he announced were similar to those announced every single year for the past four years, so the public was unsurprisingly unreceptive.</p>

<p><strong>President Muhammadu Buhari'</strong>s appeal that he's committed to comprehensive police reform also did the opposite of calming the public.</p>

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The IG already has my firm instructions  to conclusively address the concerns of Nigerians regarding these excesses, &amp; ensure erring personnel are brought to justice. I appeal for patience &amp; calm, even as Nigerians freely exercise their right to peacefully make their views known.</p>&mdash; Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) <a href="https://twitter.com/MBuhari/status/1314667886435356673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>The protests continued, and they started to spring up in more places with more people demanding the complete shutdown of SARS.</p>

<p>While bodies on the ground grew, the advocacy online went global with millions using the EndSARS hashtag on Twitter, and notable global figures adding their voices to advocacy.</p>

<p>Protests started springing up abroad too, in Germany, in the United States, and the United Kingdom.</p>

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSARS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSarsNow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSarsNow</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARSImmediately?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSARSImmediately</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSarsProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSarsProtests</a> UNILAG gate, Yaba, Lagos. <a href="https://t.co/IiJUxepYl4">pic.twitter.com/IiJUxepYl4</a></p>&mdash; Pulse Nigeria (@PulseNigeria247) <a href="https://twitter.com/PulseNigeria247/status/1314876454723825665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>With protests blowing up all over the country and many planned for days to come, the IGP announced on Sunday, October 11, that SARS <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/igp-disbands-sars-nationwide/l86hxre">had been dissolved</a> across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.</p>

<p>All officers serving in the unit are to be redeployed to other police commands, formations and units, and a new arrangement to be made for tackling violent crimes, the primary role of the unit just disbanded.</p>

<p>The initial public euphoria over the government's concession quickly vanished in light of the history of the government's failure in dealing with the unit.</p>

<p>While still suspicious of the dissolution of SARS, Nigerians are now demanding that the government implements a very widespread and transparent police reform that will ensure their rights to civil liberties.</p>

<p>This call has been made even more important by the high-handedness of authorities in dealing with protesters.</p>

<p>Police officers have <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/again-police-attack-endsars-protesters-in-abuja/weerd6g">relentlessly attacked protesters</a> especially in Abuja where many have been injured, and Ogun State where some have been killed.</p>

<p>Many protests have already kicked off on Monday, October 12 in Lagos and Abuja.</p>

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scenes from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARSProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSARSProtests</a> at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos this morning <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SARSMUSTEND?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SARSMUSTEND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSARS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndPoliceBrutality?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndPoliceBrutality</a> <a href="https://t.co/aKHYud45T2">pic.twitter.com/aKHYud45T2</a></p>&mdash; Pulse Nigeria (@PulseNigeria247) <a href="https://twitter.com/PulseNigeria247/status/1315574237957156864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>Some of the new demands include the release of all arrested protesters, and justice for all deceased victims of police brutality, with appropriate compensation for their families.</p>

<p>An independent body is to be set up as soon as possible to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police brutality.</p>

<p>Nigerians also want all disbanded SARS officers to undergo psychological evaluation and re-training before they can be redeployed.</p>

#EndSARS protesters are not satisfied with the efforts of the authorities on comprehensive police reform [Pulse]

<p>Not only do Nigerians want authorities to expedite reform of the entire Police Force, they want it backed by the authority of a voice that belongs to President Buhari who has been hiding behind press releases and media aides.</p>

<p>The president, in his usual reticence, has failed to address the nation's currently hottest burning issue in a way Nigerians have demanded.</p>

<p>All the protests planned for this week will go ahead as scheduled, protesters have insisted, until there's enough to convince Nigerians that the battle has been won.</p>

SARS has 'officially' ended, but Nigerian protesters are not backing down

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