20-10-20
20th of October 2020 an unforgettable day in Nigeria. The day will forever be in history.
We came out to protest in October 2020. All we asked for was the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). SARS as the name implies were supposed to be friends of the citizens and enemies of armed robbers. They are supposed to work hand in hand with the citizens to minimize robbery cases in the country. But instead, they engaged themselves in the acts that they were supposed to be found. First, they harass male youths and accuse them wrongly, saying they are fraudulent. SARS doesn't want to see you fresh and using expensive things as a youth. Not even a youth alone, they extort citizens both male and female for using iPhones, exotic vehicles, and expensive jewelry. They arrest youths unlawfully and take bribes to release them.
In 2017 the youths lent their voices on Twitter with the #EndSARS. The Government of Nigeria then ordered the disbandment of SARS. We thought they disbanded the Corrupt SARS without knowing they only said that to silence our protest. In 2018/2019 The SARS operatives continued their illegal acts. The humiliations of the SARS group was got worse. It got to the extent that the so-called SARS group who were supposed to apprehend criminals were the ones found in criminal acts like rape, theft, kidnapping, extortion of Citizens cars. They kill innocent youth with tattoos and tinted hair, claiming they are frauds.
So the Nigerian youths came out October 2020 to EndSars. It started on Twitter again this time with the #Endsars. Some youths gathered themselves with some celebrities to peacefully protest against the killings of the innocent.
It all started peacefully, our fight was for all, a better Nigeria was all we asked for. Day by day more youths join the others to protest on the streets. The youths went to police stations peacefully to lend their voices. Twitter was the main channel of connection for the youths. A lot of celebrities joined on the streets as well to EndSars and stop police brutality. The first few days, they ignored our cry and turned deaf ears to it. Celebrities sleep on the road with other citizens in the presence of mosquitoes and cold weather. Despite that, they refuse to hear our voice. This was when the whole Nigerian youth came out in one voice across all the states in the country #EndSars #EndSars. No day passed by without the #EndSars trending.
After some days of the protest, the Inspector general of police addressed the public that the SARS group has been disbanded. Disbanded? The same word they used in 2017 to resist us from protesting. No! No!! No!! The youths said. #EndSarsNow #EndSarsNow #EndSarsNow #EndSarsNow.
The protest continued. They came with another technique and said the SARS group will no longer exist but a new group called SWAT will be opened, but the same officers in the SARS will be trained and distributed in the SWAT team.
Do they take us as fools? The removal of the Zeros before or after a decimal point doesn't change the number. Changing the squad name makes no difference if it is the same set of people that will still be in the new team. We said No! No!! No!!!
#EndSars #EndSwat #EndPoliceBrutality.
We continued the Peaceful protest.
Can you believe the Government hired some hoodlums to attack peaceful protesters? Hoodlums with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons attacked the peaceful protesters and injured some of them. The news came from other states that some youths are dead.
They thought that would stop us, that was when the war began. Tweeters made the #EndSars #EndPoliceBrutality trend the number one in the world. Celebrities from abroad were called upon. Rihanna, Beyonce, Lil Baby, and some other foreign celebrities supported the youths to stop the killing of their brothers and sisters.
On the 20th of October 2020, thousands of youths gathered at Lekki toll gate (Lagos) to continue the protest. We continued our protest peacefully till the evening. By evening videos were trending on Twitter showing some Government workers removing the CCTV cameras at the toll gate. They had a plan, around 7:00 pm that night, the army came into the peaceful protest ground and began to shoot at the peaceful Protesters and drove off. They shot at us, we were unharmed, in our hands were just the National flag. Many youths were laid dead on the ground. A popular female celebrity DJ switch was live on Instagram when it happened, they shot a guy standing right beside her. I the live video, which millions of people were streaming, they tried to save the lives of some youth that were shot but still breathing. Tears were rolling down my eyes that night. We were all speechless that night, because how would a country decide to kill innocent citizens. Isn't it our right to protest? What were we asking for? Isn't it for the betterment of the country?
They stained the Nigerian flag that night, Green white Green was soaked with the blood of the innocent.
Meanwhile, The Government of Nigeria banned all Nigerian TV stations from carrying any news about the protest. The CNN news was in support of the Nigerian youths. They reported about the killings of the innocent by the Government of Nigeria, providing shreds of evidence, including the record of DJ Switch's Instagram live video. The government of Nigeria denied it and say the evidence was video-shopped. Nigerian youths were afraid to go out, but we continued to lend our voice on Twitter. The president of the country finally came out to address the issue after days of turning deaf ears to us. He then said that the SARS group has been dissolved and that the Lekki massacre didn't happen at all so the Government is innocent of the accusations.
They ended the protest themselves by putting fear in all the citizens. We had nothing to do again than to pray for the family of the deceased and seek Justice for the dead.
This article is dedicated to those we lost in the fight against police brutality, their death was not in vain. The SARS is no longer in existence. We will always remember them, they are true heroes. Every 20th of October will forever be for them.
The #EndSarsMemorial is currently the number trending on Twitter Nigeria. There will be a #EndSars Memorial Procession in memorial of Lives lost on 20-10-2020. Today Wednesday 20th October 2021, by 8:00 am at Lekki toll gate.
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This day was really a dreadful day in the history of Nigeria...
People were killed and they were all denied and it was a pity