Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy, described the #EndSARS protest as the foundation of what he terms “irresponsible protesting” in Nigeria.
The #EndSARS movement, which lasted for over two weeks in 2020, sparked widespread demonstrations across major Nigerian cities, demanding the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit infamous for brutality, extrajudicial killings, and corruption.
Initially an online campaign, the movement rapidly grew into large-scale protests, culminating in the tragic events of October 20, 2020, when security forces allegedly opened fire on unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate. The incident led to global condemnation, though the Nigerian government repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Speaking on a Wednesday morning program on News Central Television, Bwala argued that #EndSARS marked the beginning of unstructured and disorderly protests in Nigeria, contrasting it with previous demonstrations that he claimed were better organized.
While acknowledging that security forces mishandled aspects of the protest, he maintained that they were acting in an effort to uphold law and order.
“You want to shut down law and order in the country. There is no police anywhere in the world that will close their eyes to that fact. EndSARS was the beginning and the foundation of irresponsible protesting. Before EndSARS, all the protests that we had in the country were organised. That’s why they were called organised protests.”
“But the government didn’t shut down the protesters. However, there were misadventures by law enforcement, and I admit that. That’s why a panel was formed to investigate, and it released its findings. But many of the subsequent reports were based on fake news, particularly from CNN, which exaggerated several aspects of the story,” the presidential aide said.
