Dear Ambassador George Adesola Oguntade,

We would like to draw your attention to the outcry of our fellow Nigerians back home who are facing unremitting injustice at the hands of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other policing forces.

As you may be aware, peaceful protests have taken place across the country and globally with a unified message to hold public institutions and individuals accountable for their record amongst citizens. Sadly, at least 10 people have lost their lives during the protests, while several others have been attacked, tear-gassed, maimed or had their property damaged, simply for speaking out against violations to their fundamental human rights.

Although the Nigerian government has publicly admitted to problems of gross misconduct by SARS on numerous occasions, over the years any efforts to address these issues have been found wanting. All attempts at reform were hugely unsuccessful.

On the 11th of October 2020, the Federal Government announced the “dissolution” of SARS, but what we have witnessed since is the continued violence and intimidation towards protesters from what seem to be SARS officials performing as rogue units, and interruptions by alleged hired thugs. Now, we see that the government have appointed the new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, and there are plans to redeploy SARS officers without sufficient training and without adequate steps to identify the criminals among them to ensure they are reprimanded, and justice is served.

Our compatriots in Nigeria have made themselves clear. They do not want SARS, or SARS under the guise of another name. They do not want SWAT. They want an end to the rampant police misconduct and police brutality in Nigeria. Ultimately, they want total police reform and transparency from the government about their next steps. They want to feel safe on the streets instead of fearful of the public servants who are supposed to protect them. We stand in solidarity with them and wholeheartedly stand with their plight. 

Ambassador Oguntade, as our conduit to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the highest ranking official of the office you have a duty to uphold our needs and act in our best interests. Your silence and unavailability on this matter has been disappointing. We want to hear from you. We would like to know what you and your office are doing to ensure the voices of the Nigerians you represent here in the United Kingdom are being heard and responded to by the Federal Government.

In response to the announcement on 11th October, the Nigerian youth put forward five actions for the government to take:

1.   Immediate release of all arrested protesters

2.   Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families

3.   Setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct (within 10 days)

4.   Psychological evaluation and retraining (confirmed by an independent body) of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed

5.   Increase police salary so that they are adequately compensated for protecting the lives and property of citizens

Yet, there has been no tangible progress to advance these simple requests. There has been no transparency from the government on their next steps.

Our ask to you:

Articulate our demands and make them known to the Federal Government for immediate actions to be taken to end police brutality in Nigeria and to reform the police by meeting all five requests put forward.

We urge you to send and fight for our message. We will not believe rumours of the end of SARS and the end of police brutality until we see proof. We need to see actions and not just words. We ask for your transparency and to communicate with the members of the diaspora about the steps you wish to take. We need to see processes and timelines. We need to see a change in the national culture of policing. We do not want officers who have terrorised the nation through SARS to be "redeployed" and given refreshed and renewed avenues to do more harm. 

While we may be in the United Kingdom, we are deeply affected and spurred to action by the injustices our compatriots face in Nigeria and anywhere in the world. Many of us even have traumatic stories of our experiences with the police back home and abroad.

Across the United Kingdom and globally, Nigerians are joining their fellow citizens in protest for this institutional change. Both in the diaspora and at home, we do not want to be led or represented by invisible figureheads who collect excessive salaries and don’t engage with their people or act in their best interests. 

We want a government that listens, responds and works. We want a better Nigeria where systems are for the people and the youth have a future. We join our fellow citizens in demanding that swift action be taken, and that justice be served. We will continue to amplify their voices and their message. We cannot “build a nation where peace and justice shall reign” if our government is not truly for the people.

Ambassador George Adesola Oguntade we expect that you will use the influence of your position and your office to stand with us.

Yours Sincerely,

Concerned Nigerians in the United Kingdom

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What are the #ENDSARS protests about?

Peaceful protests began across Nigeria on the 8th of October 2020, with the aim of bringing an end to the existence of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit formed during military rule in 1984. The message has been clear, and the youth want to hold public institutions and individuals accountable for their maltreatment of citizens. For almost two weeks these protests have continued, garnering widespread international recognition. 

The problems with SARS originate from its conception. In 2010, Amnesty International Nigeria released a report detailing numerous atrocities committed by SARS officials, including the detention and torture of three motorcycle drivers in Port Harcourt. Amnesty International Nigeria also reported almost 100 cases of torture, ill-treatment, and extra-judicial killings by SARS between January 2017 to May 2020. There are many more that were unaccounted for. 

The impunity of SARS spans to every part of the criminal spectrum, from harassment to extortion, blackmail, kidnapping, rape, excessive violence and murder. The attitude to which they have conducted themselves violates all aspects of our fundamental human rights. They impede on the lives of law-abiding Nigerian citizens and instil a fear in them that is unconscionable. It has been reported that they target the youth specifically for extremely superficial reasons. Dreadlocks (and other hairstyles), tattoos, piercings, expensive cars and devices, and other harmless forms of self-expression are used as an indication of automatic “criminal behaviour”, they have used gross stereotyping as the foundation to commit their crimes. On many occasions they breach individuals’ rights to privacy and check through their devices often frustrating and extorting money from them.

Countless Nigerians in the country and in the diaspora have stories of traumatising encounters they have had with SARS. People are conscious that when leaving their homes, going to work, driving around or traveling at night, there is a likelihood that they would be harassed, extorted, arrested or even detained without cause. In extreme cases beaten, raped, killed, or even lost to the Nigerian police system with their whereabouts completely unknown to their loved ones. 

The government has failed severally over recent years to “reform” the unit. The horror stories continued until the people decided that enough was enough. Using social media and peaceful protests as a tool, people have amplified their voices, sharing their stories and insisting on institutional change.

This is only the beginning as Nigeria’s entire police system needs immediate reform, but this is the first step to solving a myriad of problems that will hopefully one day lead to widespread government reform. The youth are the future and their voices are finally being heard!