#ENDSARS - The African Mirror

Dec

2020

‘He said Victor was shot’: Brother grapples with loss after Nigeria protest deaths

LIBBY GEORGE IT was after midnight in Lagos on October 21 when Elisha Sunday said he got a call from his brother Victor's phone: a stranger told him Victor had been shot dead by soldiers at Lekki Toll Gate. After a sleepless night, he said he went out to find the body but roads towards the upscale neighbourhood were blocked and he heard shooting so turned back. Elisha, 24, said he later saw pictures of his 27-year-old brother on Facebook, draped in a Nigerian flag and covered in blood. After that, the trail went cold. Protesters objecting to police brutality…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Threats, detentions and frozen assets: Nigeria’s protesters depict pattern of intimidation

NEWS

LIBBY GEORGE and PAUL CARSTEN AT 7 a.m. on a recent Saturday, Onomene Adene received a call from a man whose voice she did not recognise. The man said he knew her from church and asked for help getting a package to their pastor. She agreed to meet him at a bank near her home in the Nigerian city of Lagos. But shortly after she arrived, according to Adene, three trucks pulled up filled with police armed with rifles and tear gas demanding that she take them to her brother. Terrified, she complied. "It was like they were coming for…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian general dismisses bloody Lagos protest videos as fake

NEWS

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM A judicial panel investigating claims that Nigerian soldiers shot dead peaceful protesters in Lagos has viewed videos appearing to show people hurt or saying that they were being fired on, but an army general dismissed the footage. Brigadier General Ahmed Taiwo, who heads the army's 81st Division in Lagos, also said soldiers had been deployed to the protest with both live rounds and blanks, having previously told the panel only blanks were used. The panel is looking into allegations that the army and police last month opened fire on and killed people protesting at the city's Lekki Toll…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria should sanction CNN for report on shooting of protesters – minister

MEDIA FREEDOM

FELIX ONUAH NIGERIA should sanction CNN for its report that the country's military shot and killed protesters demonstrating against police brutality, a minister has said. Nigeria Information Minister Lai Mohammed. Picture: Flickr The U.S. broadcaster used "unverified and possibly doctored videos" and "information from questionable sources" in the report, information minister Lai Mohammed told a news conference in Abuja. When asked, Mohammed did not specify how the government might sanction CNN. He said he believes it has internal systems for dealing with erring staff, and that Nigerian authorities would also do what was necessary. CNN did not immediately respond to…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian authorities return police brutality activist’s passport

NEWS

LIBBY GEORGE NIGERIAN immigration officials returned the passport of a prominent activist against police brutality after it was seized when she tried to leave the country last week, the activist said on Monday. Modupe Odele, second from right. Picture: Facebook Thousands of people took to the streets last month in anti-police protests. The demonstrations climaxed on October 20 when security forces opened fire and killed at least 12 protesters in Lagos, according to witnesses and Amnesty International. The army and police have denied the killings. Modupe Odele, a lawyer who has helped arrange legal defence for the protesters, said last…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s central bank freezes accounts of police brutality protesters

NEWS

NIGERIA’S central bank froze the accounts of 20 people linked with anti-police brutality protests after receiving a court order, the regulator said. Many of those affected were prominent during Nigerian protests last month known as #EndSARS, one of the West African country's biggest social upheavals in 20 years, which attracted global attention as thousands of people campaigned for an end to police brutality. The demonstrations came to a head-on October 20 when security forces opened fire and killed at least 12 protesters in Lagos, according to witnesses and Amnesty International. The army and police have denied the killings. A federal…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Why has protest music dried up in Nigeria?

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE failure of Nigeria’s current pop stars to identify with the country’s oppressed has inspired feelings of nostalgia about the late Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti. For much of his life, Kuti’s activism was the nemesis of the country’s military dictatorship and corrupt politicians. FLORENCE NWEKE, University of Lagos Famous for pairing his music with human rights activism Fela, who passed in 1997, stood against Nigeria’s military dictators, often at great personal cost to his family and band members. The apathy of Nigeria’s current crop of pop stars can be seen in the recent #EndSARS protests against police brutality led by…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

I’ve spent decades working towards Nigerian women’s power. #EndSars is our moment

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BUKOLA ONYISHI The past few months, women in Nigeria have been busy protesting for justice on multiple fronts. Earlier this year, women protested against gender-based violence. Today, young women are leaders in the #EndSARS protests. I have over two decades experience working with marginalized and resilient women in conflict zones and helping them to find their voice and rebuild their lives. As a Nigerian woman, I have seen how COVID-19 has deepened inequities and the economic, social and physical pain it has forced women to endure. The pandemic has also made clear that any sustainable path towards progress for our…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

‘I was going to die there’: Lagos panel begins hearing police brutality claims

NEWS

LIBBY GEORGE A judicial panel investigating claims of police brutality and the shooting of protesters began hearing complaints in Lagos on Tuesday in a nation on edge following Nigeria's biggest upheaval in 20 years. Independent investigations were a core demand of protesters who successfully demanded the end of a widely feared police branch called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The demonstrations turned violent on October 20 when witnesses said the military opened fire on peaceful protesters. The army said it was not there. Authorities said at least 13 states have established judicial panels. The Lagos panel has yet to receive…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Perfect storm’: How Nigeria’s peaceful police protests turned violent

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM TEARS fill Ephraim Osinboyejo's eyes as he recalls the idealism that drove thousands of Nigerians like him into the streets to campaign against police brutality - and the night he saw young activists gunned down. The 39-year-old businessman says he returned to Nigeria last year after two decades abroad because he wanted to help his country. When nationwide demonstrations began on October 8, he volunteered to manage logistics at the main protest site in Lagos. But what began as a largely peaceful movement, driven by young, tech-savvy activists who used social media to grab global attention, turned into…