The #EndSARS protest, corruption and insecurity debates in Nigeria

Abstract

The mass protest to end the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (known as the #EndSARS protest) was a decentralized social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria. The protest started in 2017 as a Twitter campaign using the hash tag #ENDSARS to demand the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. This paper argues that the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria was a microcosmic manifestation of the deeply rooted dissatisfaction of Nigerians with the social, economic and political situation of the country. Data was collected using secondary sources such as internet material, journal, research reports and textbooks, and were analyzed using the expository and analytical method of inquiry, the paper demonstrates that the protest was just the avenue the Nigerian youths got to ventilate their frustration, disappointment and anger with the government. The paper asserts that nepotism, tribalism, insecurity and corruption are the underlying issues that fuelled the protest. Restructuring and resource control, which underline the gross inequality in Nigeria, are other current debates that gave rise to the protest. Following the analysis, the paper concludes that nepotism, tribalism, insecurity and corruption are the bane of Nigeria’s economic, political and social ill.