The #EndSars Protests in Nigeria: 6 Times Nigerian Women Made a Statement

Credit: Vanguard news

Like most countries around the world, Nigeria is not exempt from the brutality and injustice meted out by its law enforcement agencies. On the 8th of October, 2020, Nigerian Youths launched a nationwide protest to abolish a corrupt and abusive police unit called the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS). The demands of the protesters are quite simple – #EndSars and #ReformthePolice.

But as simple as this demand is, it has met with stiff opposition from the Nigerian government who claim that SARS has been instrumental in handling some of the unrest the country has faced in recent times. When the heat got too hot to handle, they ‘disbanded’ the unit for the fourth time since 2015 and renamed the unit ‘SWAT.’ But the youths refused to fall for the old trick and they took to the streets once again to demand that the government must #EndSWAT.

Amidst thousands of protesters that took to the streets of several states in the Federal Republic, some moments have been termed – iconic. And at the forefront of these special moments in this history-making movement are women. Yes, you read that right. Of all the iconic moments, these are the six times Nigerian women made a statement at the #EndSars protests in Nigeria.

The Feminist Coalition

The Feminist Coalition is a group of young, vibrant Nigerian feminists. The group was formed in July 2020 with a mission to champion equality for women in Nigerian society with a core focus on education, financial freedom, and representation in public office. It is vital to note that a higher percentage of SARS’ brutality victims are men, yet this group is at the forefront of raising funds to help support various peaceful protesters across Nigeria.

From the moment the protest started till the 15th of October, 2020, the group has raised a total of N69,891,637 and have disbursed over N15,443,280 to support 128 protests across Nigeria with food, water, masks, first aid kits/first responders, bail, hospital bills, and logistics.

Taking up this mantle has not been without its backlash. The group took to their Twitter account on Tuesday, the 13th of October to cry out, ‘For demanding an end to police brutality, we are now under attack. Our bank account has been deactivated and so has the Flutterwave donation link. Our members’ lives are also being threatened!’

Yet, they’ve stood firm. Female power!

Aisha Yesufu

Aisha Yesufu is a 45-year-old socio-political activist from Edo State in Nigeria. Aisha was born and raised in the northern part of Nigeria (Kano, to be specific), and so she grew up experiencing first-hand the fate of the girl-child in a heavily patriarchal society. From her early days in Kano, she had always fought against the status quo, fighting for her right to education and consensual marriage.

The world was privileged to witness this ball of fierceness in April 2014 when she co-convened the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement that was inspired by the abduction of over 200 Chibok secondary-school girls by the terrorist sect, Boko Haram.

The iconic photo below was taken at one of her appearances at the peaceful #EndSars protests in Abuja. She led the charge to the Police Headquarters amidst police retaliation. Even if the #EndSars menace affects a significant part of the younger generation, Aisha Yesufu has pledged to continue fighting until justice prevails because she “would not leave the fight against End SARS protest in Nigeria for her children.”

Like one Twitter user said, ‘I will tell my children, this was our statue of liberty,’

We cannot help but STAN!

Natacha Ibinabo Akide (Symply_Tacha)

Natacha Ibinabo Akide, simply known as Tacha, is a reality TV star, a serial businesswoman, and an influencer. She hails from Rivers State in Nigeria.

From her early years, Tacha gained popularity from posting controversial content on her Instagram page. Her content gained her a few fans and arguably more foes. Her big break came when she was selected for the reality TV show, Big Brother Naija. This gave her a bigger platform to sell herself and her brand. But unfortunately, she got disqualified from the show and once again, gained more foes than fans. But Tacha was resilient, and with the help of her loyal fans called Titans, she was able to seize control of the narrative and steer it however she pleased.

When the #EndSars protests started, Tacha was one of the few celebrities that used their platform to call out the government. When it was still an idea, she didn’t hesitate to call out the ills of the government and demand that the police unit be scrapped. Given her past, Nigerians were not so receptive to her advocacy, even if they agreed with the movement. Regardless, Tacha came out for the protest. Several times.

When the Governor of Rivers State, Enzenwo Nyesom Wike announced that peaceful protests had been banned in the state, Tacha was one of the first few to call out the Governor for the infringement on the peoples’ rights in a series of tweets.

With all due respect, your Excellency, you are a lawyer and I believe you know better. This is a DEMOCRACY SYSTEM and Rivers State belongs to all the Daughters and Sons of the state. It is our RIGHT TO PEACEFULLY PROTEST AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 #SarsMustGoNow #PhProtest

Gov. Wike, Sons and Daughters of RIVERS STATE STOOD THROUGH THE NIGHT TO DEFEND OUR VOTES FOR YOU! Only for you to DEPRIVE US OF OUR RIGHT TO PEACEFULLY PROTEST💔💔 #PhProtest #SarsMustGo #SARSMUSTENDNOW

Gov. Wike, we flew into this state today to FIGHT FOR A BETTER NIGERIA! TO WALK THE WALK! TO FIGHT FOR A BETTER TODAY AND TOMORROW!! Why should we be DEPRIVED OUR RIGHT!! Why?

NIGERIA BELONGS TO ALL OF US!! RIVERS STATE NA WE OWN Gov. Wike.#SarsMustGoNow #PhProtest #SARSMUSTEND

She didn’t just stop there. She took her advocacy a notch higher when she joined the protest, openly and brazenly defying the Governor’s unlawful ban. Apparently, she took a flight from Lagos State, her place of residence, to Rivers State to be a part of the #PortHarcourt protests lending credence to her self-conferred title, Port Harcourt’s First Daughter.

A lot of people became believers, impressed with the tenacity and passion with which the reality star attacked the protests.

@Yamaipatrick, a Twitter user had this to say, ‘Never believe there will be a time that Tacha will burst my head. I Stan a Queen! Saying it as it is. #EndSars’

Patricia Amadin

In the heat of the peaceful protests, the Nigerian police force resorted to the use of weapons, tear gas, water cannons, illegal arrests, contracted thugs, and even cold-blooded killings to disperse the protesters. This might have been a move orchestrated to discourage the youths but it only managed to fuel their anger and the streets became fuller than before.

In a climate where the average Nigerian youth is abused by the police, Patricia Amadin decided to take care of them. Patricia Amadin is the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Anthony Police Station in Lagos State. She became popular after some protesters in the area took to Twitter to commend her for the encouragement and support she showed during the campaign. She had her team escort the protesters to make sure that there was no impugnment of their freedom of expression as enshrined in the constitution.

One Twitter user (@SegunMaximus) even went further to testify to her good nature as he recounted his experience with her, ‘During the bike ban, trigger happy policemen held me at Maryland and insisted that the ban covers power bikes. She was the one that let me go. beautiful soul, we gisted for a bit. She’s doing her second masters as we speak, Better woman!!!!’

@ibeaux on Twitter had this to say, ‘That one? She is the DPO at Anthony and she is a gem…a solid police officer, the type we can only presently dream of for Nigeria…na better police o! Articulate and immaculate too! Mrs. Amadin.’

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Patricia Amadin is the face of the Police Force the Nigerian people desperately yearn for.

When decent police officers who stood for the people are mentioned, Patricia Amadin’s name will echo the loudest.

Savvy Rinu

Olorunrinu Oduala, popularly known as Savvy Rinu, is a Nigerian Human Rights Activist, Media Strategist, and Digital Marketer.

She is one of the few people that can claim to have been present for some of the first #EndSars peaceful protests in Lagos State, Nigeria. Although the movement recognizes no leader, Savvy Rinu was a key figure in leading the protesters to lay siege at the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex for 3 days. She spent long and cold nights on the hard concrete grounds of the protest, resting and waiting for the Governor’s address.

When the Deputy Governor of the state did address the crowd, he claimed that Nigeria was not like the United States where protests were effective, to which Rinu retorted that as a government official, he shouldn’t make such claims.

Her bravery and fierceness have won over the hearts of the Nigerian youths and she will be forever remembered as one of the pacesetting figures in the movement.

A Twitter user (@dannywalta) said, ‘Myself and @Dehkunle had to carry @SavvyRinu on our shoulders so she could stand tall amongst the crowd to face the Deputy Governor. I’ll carry her on my head if I have to. She’s the real African Giant. #EndSARS’

Kiki Mordi

Kiki Mordi is an Emmy-nominated Nigerian Journalist, Writer, Filmmaker, Media Personality, and Activist. Although she was already respected in her field, she gained more popularity after releasing a 13-minute documentary exposing the sexual harassment of students by lecturers at the University of Lagos and the University of Ghana. This she did with her team at BBC Africa Eye. Following the release of this documentary, the Nigerian Senate passed the anti-sexual harassment bill that proposed a 14-year jail term for offenders.

Once again, she stands for justice as she has taken to the streets of Lagos State to campaign for the end of SARS. On Sunday, the 11th of October, 2020 just when the protest was peaking, Kiki Mordi made a bad-ass statement. While the Nigerian police force pulled up in their police vans ready to do what they are infamously known for, Kiki pulled up to the protest in a Mack Truck.

If this doesn’t say, ‘I am ready for you. Bring your A-game,’ I don’t know what else will.

@rookygod, a Twitter user had this to say, ‘Kiki pulled up with a Mack! This is it! If they bring the police vans, let’s pull up with a Fucking Mack. We are the future of this country and we shall not be silenced for demanding the bare minimum #EndSars #EndPoliceBrutality’