#EndSARS mass protests

In October 2020, millions of young Nigerians took to the streets in cities across the country demanding the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit notorious for extortion, torture, and extrajudicial killings. The protests, organized primarily through social media, spread from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and dozens of other cities. On October 20, soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, killing several demonstrators and marking a violent turning point in the movement.

SARS had operated since 1992 with broad powers to combat armed robbery, but over decades it evolved into a feared unit that routinely harassed young Nigerians, particularly those with smartphones, laptops, or tattoos whom officers assumed were internet fraudsters. Despite multiple government promises to reform or disband the unit following earlier complaints, abuses continued unchecked. The immediate trigger for the 2020 protests was a viral video showing SARS officers allegedly killing a young man in Delta State, galvanizing a generation that had grown up under military rule into democratic activism.