Why the #ENDSARS is an Important Struggle in Nigeria

Protesters hold banners as they walk along a road during a protest against the Nigeria rogue police, otherwise know as Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), in Ikeja district of Lagos, Nigeria, 09 October 2020.

Nigerians have been protesting for years against police brutality, so why did this October’s protests gain international attention and support at a scale never seen before?

Over the last two weeks, an outpouring of support for Nigerian protesters has played out on Twitter, with various hashtags, but predominantly #EndSARS.

Sars stands for the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Accusations of Sars officers robbing, attacking and even killing people go back years but a new wave of protest started at the beginning of October.

Nigerian technology news site Tech Cabal tracks this wave down to 3 October.

A tweet by someone with just 800 followers received more than 10,000 retweets:

 

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54575219