A Coalition for Change: How Nigerian Women powered and Sustained a Movement

INTRODUCTION: The Birth of SARs

Like many other nations, Nigeria is not immune to the violence and discrimination perpetrated
by its law enforcement agencies. Following an increase in crime rate, a new Special Anti-
Robbery Unit (SARS) was established for the Nigerian Police Force in 1993 to fight violent
crimes. The unit was created to tackle issues related to robbery, car theft, kidnapping, and
firearms. In its early years, the unit achieved a lot of positive results, and later there were also
reports of abuse of power. The unit was accused of sexual harassment of women, Human rights
violation, torture, extortion, unlawful detention, profiling and brutalizing young people.
Officers of the Unit were rarely held accountable for their actions. In a global survey of 127
nations, the World Internal Security rated Nigeria's police as the worst in the world in 2016, with
an overwhelming 81 per cent of respondents claiming they have had to bribe a police officer in
the previous year. A report by Amnesty international in 2020 documented that at least 82 cases
of torture, maltreatment and execution by members of the unit between 2017 and May 2020,
with the target being young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35. Another report by ACLED
records nearly 100 events of violence targeting civilians perpetrated by the police in 2020 alone.
The Nigerian government's failure to take action and bring the officers to justice triggered the
populace, which led to the first wave of the #Endsars movement in 2016.8th October 2020
marked the start of another countrywide protest.

Online and On the Frontline

Nigerian Women are not strangers to protests and speaking up for their fundamental human
rights and have often been centre stage in movements focused on social justice and reform, from
the Aba Women's Riot of 1929 to Bring Back Our Girls Campaign to The Abeokuta Women's
Revolt and Market March Yaba against sexual harassment. Early October 2020, videos surfaced
over social media showing members of Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). This
video drew widespread attention and sparked a viral outcry, with the #EndSARS hashtag being
the most popular worldwide.
Protests started on October 8th, 2020, in Lagos state, a few days after video and photographic
evidence of SARS brutality surfaced and was widely circulated on the internet. Thousands of
people across major cities across the world took to the street to show support. In the coming
weeks, the #Endsars hashtag took over the social media space, with data showing that in the first
10days, the hashtag recorded 48 million tweets from 5 million users. To date, the #EndSARS
campaign in Nigeria has been the largest organized effort in recent years.
The Role of Women
The sustainance of the End sars protest was largely due to the interference of the Feminist
Coalition- The Feminist Coalition is a group of young Nigerian feminists formed in July 2020
with a mission to champion equality for women in Nigerian society with a core focus on
education, financial freedom and representation in public office. The vision behind the coalition
was to build a Nigeria where equality for all people is a reality through law and everyday life.
The group has been instrumental in fundraising to support the protesters on
the ground through Bitcoin donations, and has issued daily reports of the
money they’ve raised and distributed to ensure accountability. As of Oct. 19,
the group had raised more than 74 million naira, equivalent to almost
$200,000
The Feminist Coalition is now helping support injured protesters , as well as
encouraging others to stay safe and stay at home .
 One nascent women’s group in particular, the Feminist Coalition, has
used digital platforms to mobilize funds and design strategies to
support protesters across Nigeria.
On Friday, 9th of October, 2020 Nigerian women came out in mass to speak up with chants such as ‘stop
killing our children’ ‘looking good is not a crime’ ‘eyin ijoba e ma pa wa lomo mo awon ni ojo ola wa’
meaning (the government, do not kill our children anymore, they are our future) in the popular city of
Agege.
Oduala Olorunrinu is one of the organisers of the three-day protest which had protesters camping in
front of the government house. Her face has made headlines with national news, some calling her ‘the
king of boys’ for speaking boldly and being at the forefront of the protest. This is not the first-time Rinu
is in the news, she has also been listed as a Covid-19 frontline hero in the country for producing and
donating hand sanitizers during the pandemic.

The #EndSars protests against the controversial police squad, which date back to 2017, had one
key ask: the disbandment of the squad that is known for illegal arrests and detentions,
extrajudicial killings, sexual harassment of women and brutalizing of young Nigerians. 

The Aftermath and Conclusion

The #EndSars protests took an ugly turn on 20 October, when the Nigerian
army allegedly opened fire on peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in
Lagos. The first that most people heard about the shooting was when
Obianuju Catherine Udeh, better known by her stage name DJ Switch, live-
streamed the shootings on Instagram. It was watched in real time by hundreds
of thousands of people, and it has now become crucial evidence in the
commission of inquiry into the violence.
Several women involved in the protest have been listed in a recent lawsuit, in
which they were charged with encouraging unrest that led to the loss of lives
and properties. Modupe Odele, who led the #EndSars Legal Aid — a network
of legal professionals — could not travel because her passport was seized. The
passport was returned a few days later.