THE EFFECT OF END SARS PROTEST ON PUBLIC COOPERATION WITH THE NIGERIAN POLICE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the study

The END SARS social movement, which has its origins online in 2017, has reignited following reports of the shooting of an unarmed young man by members of Nigeria police’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). But peaceful demonstrations against police brutality have been cracked down on with live ammunition by the very same public officials accused of gross heavy handedness. It is reported that at least 10 people have been killed by police officers since the start of the protests, with dozens arrested and injured. This comes on top of 82 cases of police abuse by SARS documented by Amnesty International between January 2017 and May 2020, including beatings, mock executions, disappearing citizens, waterboarding and sexual violence (wikipedia,2021).

Set up in 1992, SARS appears to operate free of even an illusion of accountability and has become notorious for operating in the same clandestine and violent manner as the criminal groups it was created to combat. But it is merely the tip of the spear of Nigeria’s violent and predatory police force. (SARS) was formed to combat armed robbery and other serious crimes. Before that, anti-robbery was the responsibility of the Nigerian Police Force generally although, from 1984, anti-robbery units existed separately as part of different states’ criminal investigation departments. Other special units, which went by different names at different times, included the intelligence response team, special tactical squad, counter terrorism unit and force intelligence unit, formed to tackle rising violent crime following the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970. By the early 1990s, armed robbers and bandits were terrorising Lagos and southern Nigeria. Police officer Simeon Danladi Midenda was in charge of the anti-robbery unit of the criminal investigation department in Benin, southern Nigeria, at the time. He had some success in combating armed robbery, earning a recommendation from the then inspector general of police. With crime on the rise in Lagos, Midenda was transferred there and tasked with uniting the three existing anti-robbery squads operating in the former federal capital into one unit in a bid to break the stronghold of armed gangs. As the new sheriff in town, equipped with 15 officers and two station wagons, Midenda formed an amalgamated unit and named it the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in 1992. In the early days of the unit, combat-ready SARS officers operated undercover in plain clothes and plain vehicles without any security or government insignia and did not carry arms in public. Their main job was to monitor radio communications and facilitate successful arrests of criminals and armed robbers such as Chukwudi Onuamadike  best known as “Evans”  who was arrested in 2017 after the police spent five years tracking him and placed a 30 million naira ($80,000) reward on his head. For 10 years, SARS only operated in Lagos, but by 2002, it had spread to all 36 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It was counted as one of the 14 units under the Nigerian Police Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department. Its mandate included arrest, investigation and prosecution of suspected armed robbers, murderers, kidnappers, hired assassins and other suspected violent criminals. Emboldened by its new powers, the unit moved on from its main function of carrying out covert operations and began to set up roadblocks, extorting money from citizens. Officers remained in plain clothes but started to carry arms in public. Over time, the unit has been implicated in widespread human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention and extortion. SARS officers then allegedly moved on to targeting and detaining young men for cyber crime or being “online fraudsters”, simply on the evidence of their owning a laptop or smartphone, and then demanding excessive bail fees to let them go. In 2016, Amnesty International documented its own visit to one of the SARS detention centres in Abuja, situated in a disused abattoir.

Public perception of the Nigerian  police is an essential factor in their willingness to cooperate with the authorities in the fight against crime and criminality. But when the public dislikes the police and views them with suspicion and fear; the police has a harder work to do. This is as the case of Nigeria youths who protested against brutality of the (SARS) special anti robbery squad , before the protest , there was really no strong relationship between the Nigerian police and the Nigerian citizens. However, Regardless of the number of officers employed by the police; it is impossible for the police to be everywhere. So the support of the general public is crucial to its ability to obtain good intelligence and build better intelligence picture of their communities. Human intelligence is still the most reliable core of any intelligence led policing effort. With the historical friction and mistrust between the police and the Nigerian people, cooperation with the police is seen as dangerous as it does not only expose you to reprisals but you could end up becoming the suspect as many have experienced. There also seem to be an apathetic attitude to public opinion by the police authorities with many (it seems) are too eager to please their political masters at the expense of public goodwill and perception. Evidently, it is the unlawful perception of police actions that make public trust more difficult to cultivate. Also, the police fondness for underselling their own achievements has exacerbated an already bad situation, the research findings will be mentioned only where necessary. So the study will be a review of the effect of end sars protest on public cooperation with the Nigerian police , causes of the problems and possible solutions for improvement.

1.2       Statement of research problem

The end sars protest really exposed a lot of anomalies and corruption in the special anti robbery squad (SARS)department  of the Nigerian  police.before the protest there was relationship between the citizens and the Nigerian police but this relationship was in a fragile state as the trust between the police and citizens has dwindled drastically. reports  of police brutality, harassment , extortion, and other sorts of  ill vices committed by the police prompted the youths to protest against the police. All these and more will be examined in this study.

1.3       Objectives of the study

The primary objective of the study is as follows:

1.     To know the effect of end sars protest on public relationship with the Nigerian police force.

2.     To know the reasons for the end sars protest

3.     To find out how the relationship of police and citizens can be improved upon

1.4       Research questions

The following questions have been prepared for this study

1.     Does the end sars protest have any effect on public relationship with the Nigerian police force?

2.     What are the reasons for the end sars protest in Nigeria?

3.     How can the relationship between police and citizens be improved upon?

1.5       Significance of the study

This study will lay emphasis on the  effect of end sars protest on public cooperation with the Nigerian police. The findings of this research work will undoubtedly provide the much needed information to government organizations, NGO, the police force, individuals, and academia

1.6       Scope of the study

This study intends to examine  the effect of end sars protest on public cooperation with the Nigerian police . Hence this study is delimited to police men and Nigerian citizens in Lagos state.

1.7       Limitations of the study

This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows:

 Financial constraint is inevitable considering the present economic situations. Due to lack of finance at the researchers disposal to get materials and in printing of questionnaires. it was not possible to visit some of the police stations and some of the victims of corruption.

 In developing countries like Nigeria, there is the problem of insufficient data.

Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher   

1.8       Operational definition of terms

Effect :a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.

End sars: this  is a decentralised social movement, and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria

Public cooperation:  means an entity that is created by the state to carry out public missions and services.

Nigerian police: is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria with a staff strength of about 371,800

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