The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a branch of the Nigeria Police Force under the State
Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID). The Police Department was founded in 1992. The squad was created as a facemask
wearing police unit that performs undercover operations against crimes associated with armed robbery, car snatching, kidnapping, cattle rustling,
and crimes associated with firearms.
SARS had been accused of several human rights violations, failure to socially distance, illegal "stop and searches", illegal arrests and detentions,
extrajudicial killings, sexual harassment of women and brutalizing many young Nigerians. The human rights abuses were documented in trending videos
on social media.
In 2017, Nigerian activists, youth and celebrities across the nation took to the streets in a peaceful protest to spread awareness of SARS brutality
and extortions. The protests was also moved to social media using the hashtag #EndSARS.
According to Amnesty International's 2016 report, SARS is indicted and responsible for human abuse, cruelty, degrading treatment of Nigerians in their
custody, and other widespread torture. Some of the human rights abuses by SARS include the shooting of their detainees in the leg, mock or threats of
execution, hanging and severe beating. A 2020 publication by the organisation indicated that between January 2017 and May 2020, they had documented 82
\cases of abuses and extra judicial killings by SARS.
On Thursday 8 October 2020, nation-wide protests on ENDSARS started after weeks of outcry and anger with videos and pictures showing police brutality,
harassment and extortion in Nigeria. The protests were led predominantly by young Nigerians in different cities alongside many activists and celebrities.
Nigeria Police Force disrupted the protests in some cities, throwing teargas, using water cannons and shooting at unarmed peaceful protesters as seen in
Abuja and Osun, this led to the death of Jimoh Isiaq in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. By Wednesday, 14 October 2020, the End SARS protests were still ongoing with
young people in different parts of Nigeria intensifying their calls for reforms and accountability in police operations.
As at October 23rd, 2020 13 states have since established Judicial Panels to seek justice and compensate victims whose rights have been breached by the
disbanded SARS.
| S/N | State | Start of the protest | Judicial Panel Established at the state level( Date) | Number of casualties/death | Measures taken by states | Protest became violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abia | 10th October, 2020 | 2 deaths (on Oct 9th and Oct 20th) | Abia state governor Okezie Ikpeazu imposed 24 hour curfew in Abia and Umuahia from 6pm on Tuesday 20th October, 2020 till further notice. | ||
| 2 | Adamawa | 8th October, 2020 | ||||
| 3 | Akwa Ibom | 8th October,2020 | ||||
| 4 | Anambra | 10th October, 2020 | On Thursday 22nd October,2020 Governor Willie Obiano imposed 24 hours curfew starting from 8pm. All schools and markets remain closed till curfew is called off All gatherings by groups and associations under any name or label from 8pm be banned. | |||
| 5 | Bauchi | 8th October, 2020 | ||||
| 6 | Bayelsa | 8th October, 2020 | ||||
| 7 | Benue | 8th October, 2020 | ||||
| 8 | Borno | 8th October, 2020 | ||||
| 9 | Cross River | 8th October, 2020 | On Friday, 23rd October, 2020 the Cross River State Governor imposed a 24 hour curfew in the state starting from 6pm. | |||
| 10 | Delta | 10th October,2020 | 1 death (Oct 9th and Oct 20th). On Thursday 22nd October, 2020 the Delta state governor declared 48 hours curfew. Curfew now 8am to 6pm till further notice. The governor also shut down all public and private schools till Monday 2nd November,2020. | |||
| 11 | Ebonyi | 13th October, 2020 | ||||
| 12 | Enugu | 13th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 13 | Edo | 8th October,2020 | 6 deaths (Oct 9th and Oct 20th) | On Monday 19th October, 2020 Edo state government declare 24 hour curfew for the state from 4pm till further notice. | 16th October,2020. On 19th Oct, news broke that hoodlums had stormed the correctional center in Edo state to free jailed inmates as part of the ENDSARS movement demands. | >|
| 14 | Ekiti | 9th October,2020 | The Ekiti state governor imposes 24 hour curfew starting from 10pm Tuesday 20th October, 2020 till 6am on Monday, 26th October,2020. | > | ||
| 15 | Gombe | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 16 | Imo | 8th October, 2020 | The Imo state government impose a 24hr curfew from 12 midnight Tuesday 20 October, 2020 till further notice | > | ||
| 17 | Jigawa | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 18 | Kaduna | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 19 | Kano | 8th October, 2020 | 6 deaths (Oct 9th and Oct 20th) | > | ||
| 20 | Katsina | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 21 | Kebbi | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 22 | Kogi | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 23 | Kwara | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 24 | Lagos | 8th October, 2020 | The Lagos state government on 19th October, inaugurated a 7 member judicial panel of inquiry and restitution into SARS
abuses at the state house. The panel is charged with the task of investigating cases of brutality and human rights violations committed by operatives of the dissolved Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos. The 7 member judicial panel will sit for six months and is mandated to thoroughly dig into all verifiable claims of abuses and fatalities arising from SARS engagement in the state, with the objective to bring erring officers to justice and get compensation for the victims. On October 23rd , the terms of reference of the Judicial probe panel set up by the Lagos state government to investigate brutality and human rights violation by officers of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad(SARS) was expanded. |
36 deaths (between Oct 9th and Oct 20th) | On 20th October, the Lagos state governor imposed a 24 hour curfew starting from 4pm. Lagos state government relaxes curfew on October 23rd, imposes a new restriction time from 6pm to 8am daily. All public and private schools to remain shut till further notice |
20th October, 2020 – The Lekki Toll Gate Massacre | >
| 25 | Nasarawa | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 26 | Niger | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 27 | Ogun | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 28 | Ondo | 8th October, 2020 | 1 death (between Oct 9th and Oct 20th) | Gov. Akeredolu imposes 24 hours curfew on Tuesday Oct 20th till further notice. The Ondo State Government lifts the 24 hour curfew earlier imposed which took effect from Saturday, October 24, 2020. | > | |
| 29 | Osun | 12th October, 2020 | The Governor of Osun State, Adegboye Oyetola on October 22nd, 2020 inaugurated 12 man Judicial panel of inquiry on
Police Brutality. The panel was set up to look into cases of assault, illegal killings, brutality and other forms of human rights abuse by the officers and men of the disbanded Special Ani-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police. |
5 deaths (between Oct 9th and Oct 20th) | On Tuesday Oct 20th, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola imposed 24 hour curfew on all parts of the state from 11:59pm | > |
| 30 | Oyo | 13th October, 2020 | Oyo state inaugurated a Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality, Violation of Rights of Citizens and Unlawful Killings. The panel is made up of eleven (11) members led by Justice Badejoko Adeniji (retired), as Chairman of the Panel. | 7 injured protesters, 1 shot dead, 11 deaths (between Oct 9th and Oct 20th) | Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde visits scenes of violence on October 22nd, vows to compensate victims of the attack. | October 20th November 11th | >
| 31 | Plateau | 13th October, 2020 | Plateau state governor, Simon lalong impose 24 hour curfew with effect from 8pm on Tuesday October 20, 2020 till further notice | October 20th | >||
| 32 | Rivers | 13th October, 2020 | On 21st October, the Rivers state governor imposed a 24 hour curfew from 6:30pm | > | ||
| 33 | Sokoto | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 34 | Taraba | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 35 | Yobe | 8th October, 2020 | > | |||
| 36 | Zamfara | 8th October, 2020 | > |