Live from the #ENDSARS protests in Ibadan, Nigeria
In 2017, Adekunle Ayobami was a second-year student of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, when he first encountered operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a special unit of the Nigeria Police Force prominent for their atrocious records of human rights violations. SARS operatives harassed Ayobami and took his school fees. Ever since then, he has suffered several bouts of harassment, beating, and extortion by the men of the SARS unit.
“At least, you must to pay a minimum of N25,000 and the maximum I have paid at a go is N150,000. When I was in 200 level, they once collected my school fee. I was able to find another school fee since I knew I had no choice and I had to pursue my career.”
Adekunle Ayobami
Ayobami joined hundreds of other young people in the city of Ibadan for the nationwide #ENDSARS protests seeking the total dissolution of the police unit. Other young persons shared their personal experiences of the various SARS’ atrocities:
Olawale Akorede: “I have had multiple experiences with SARS. There were days I am travelling down to my hometown, Akure from Ibadan and they stopped me around Iwo-road, harassed me, checking all my properties without me dressing like a criminal, without them finding me in a compromising situation. These has happened on multiple times. I didn’t pay the first time. There are times I paid N30,000. There are times I paid N50,000. The last time I stood my ground but that was after multiple slaps and beating.”
Oluwakemi: “I had a personal experience with them earlier this year. I was on bike with one of the persons that work for me. They just came from nowhere. Inside the traffic; anything could have happened, any car could have hit us. And they were showing us gun, for what? They said, ‘let me see your phone.’ Ok, this is my phone but nothing was on my phone.
Even if you want to arrest a person, you will go through normal procedures. Not because I look good, not because I dress well, not because I am using a good phone you should be harassing us on the road. It’s not called for. They go to people’s house to arrest them. We are not safe in our house; we are not safe on the street. If we should stay at home and say we are not going to do anything about it then they will not do anything about it too.”
I fear SARS more than the armed robbers they were created to attack.
Okunola Babajide: “Last two months, me and my guys were going to Palms mall, they blocked us at challenge. They checked our car, our phone. They didn’t find anything incriminating but at the end of the day we had to pay N10,000 because they threatened that they will carry us to Iyaganku (Police headquarters) and they will rob us in for an offence. They asked for N50,000 but we negotiated to N10,000.
They are not doing their job. It is not in their job to move around. If you watch American movies, they have SWAT but you don’t see them on the road in America. It is only when there is armed robbery that they involve themselves but here they don’t do what they are created to do. I fear SARS more than the armed robbers they were created to attack.”
Asiwaju Lerry: “We want just one thing. They should #EndSARS. They keep disbanding SARS and immediately they go back into the street to harass people again.”
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