Five years ago this month, young Nigerians took to the streets in what became one of the most significant civil rights movements in our nation’s recent history. The #EndSARS protests of October 2020 were not merely demonstrations against police brutality—they were a collective cry for dignity, accountability, and systemic reform. Today, as we mark this solemn anniversary, we are compelled to ask: What has changed? The answer, tragically, is very little.
Despite the global attention the protests garnered and the promises made in their aftermath, police conduct in Nigeria remains fundamentally unchanged. Citizens continue to report cases of extortion, harassment, arbitrary detention, and brutality at the hands of those sworn to protect them. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad may have been officially disbanded, but its spirit lives on in the conduct of officers who operate with impunity. The systemic issues that gave birth to SARS—poor training, inadequate oversight, a culture of violence, and complete absence of accountability—remain deeply embedded in our policing institutions. Young Nigerians still fear encounters with law enforcement. The sight of a police checkpoint continues to evoke anxiety rather than reassurance. This is not the mark of a reformed system; it is evidence of institutional failure.
Perhaps nothing illustrates the government’s contempt for its citizens more than its refusal to apologize for the killing of peaceful protesters. On the night of October 20, 2020, at the Lekki Toll Gate, unarmed young people waving Nigerian flags and singing the national anthem were met with bullets. Lives were lost. Families were shattered. Dreams were extinguished. Yet, five years later, the Federal Government has not offered a single word of genuine remorse or accountability for these deaths. This silence is not neutral—it is complicity. It sends a message that the lives of Nigerian youth are expendable, that their demands for justice are illegitimate, and that the state reserves the right to use lethal force against its own children without consequence. An apology would not bring back the dead, but it would represent a first step toward healing and reconciliation. Its absence is a wound that continues to fester.
The various judicial panels of inquiry established across states heard harrowing testimonies and compiled extensive evidence of police misconduct. Officers were identified, documented, and indicted for crimes ranging from extortion to murder. These panels represented a glimmer of hope—a possibility that Nigeria might finally hold its security forces accountable. That hope has been extinguished. Not a single officer indicted by the #EndSARS panels has been meaningfully brought to book. No prosecutions. No convictions. No consequences. The perpetrators of violence against Nigerian citizens continue to walk free, many still serving in the same institutions, some possibly occupying the same positions. This failure to prosecute is not merely administrative negligence—it is a deliberate choice that reinforces the culture of impunity that sparked the protests in the first place. How can we speak of reform when those who violated the rights of citizens face no sanctions? How can we expect behavioral change when misconduct carries no cost?
The protesters who were killed, maimed, or traumatized during the demonstrations and their aftermath were promised compensation. Their families were assured that the state would acknowledge their suffering and provide some measure of restitution. Five years later, most victims have received nothing. Young people who lost limbs, who carry physical and psychological scars, who can no longer work or live normal lives due to injuries sustained while exercising their constitutional right to protest—these individuals have been abandoned by the state. Families who buried their children have been left to grieve alone, without acknowledgment or support. This abandonment is both cruel and calculated. By refusing to compensate victims, the government avoids admitting wrongdoing. But this denial comes at the expense of Nigerians who sacrificed their safety, their health, and in some cases their lives, for the possibility of a better nation.
Most state governments established judicial panels to investigate allegations of police brutality and the conduct of security forces during the protests. These panels collected testimony, reviewed evidence, and prepared reports. Yet most of these reports have never been released to the public. Why the secrecy? What truths are contained in these documents that the government finds too dangerous to share? In a democracy, citizens have the right to know what their government knows, especially when it concerns the use of state violence against them. The suppression of these reports is an assault on transparency and accountability. It suggests that the panels were never meant to deliver justice—they were theatrical performances designed to pacify public anger while protecting the status quo. The Nigerian people deserve the truth, and the families of victims deserve answers that have been deliberately withheld from them.
The most damning indictment of our government’s response to #EndSARS is not what it has failed to do, but what it has chosen not to learn. The protests revealed fundamental truths about the relationship between the Nigerian state and its young people. They exposed the bankruptcy of governance structures that respond to dissent with violence rather than dialogue. They demonstrated the depth of frustration felt by a generation that sees no future in their own country. Five years later, these lessons remain unlearned. The government’s response to subsequent protests and civil society activities shows a continuing pattern of repression, surveillance, and intimidation. Rather than addressing the legitimate grievances that drive young Nigerians to the streets, authorities have focused on preventing protests altogether—treating dissent as a threat rather than a democratic right.
A nation that cannot learn from its mistakes is doomed to repeat them. The conditions that produced #EndSARS—police brutality, youth unemployment, systemic corruption, absence of accountability—have not improved. In many cases, they have worsened. It is not a question of whether there will be another explosion of public anger, but when. The young people who protested five years ago did not ask for the impossible. They asked for basic human rights, for safety, for dignity, for a police force that protects rather than predates. These demands remain valid. They remain urgent. And they will not be forgotten.
Five years after #EndSARS, we call on the Federal Government and all state governments to issue a formal apology to the families of those killed during the protests and commit to ensuring such violence never happens again. We demand the immediate release of all panel reports and commitment to implementing their recommendations in full. We insist that all indicted officers be prosecuted through fair and transparent judicial processes, demonstrating that no one is above the law. We require that all victims of police brutality and protest-related violence be compensated adequately and without further delay. We advocate for comprehensive police reform, including better training, improved welfare, robust oversight mechanisms, and a complete overhaul of the culture of impunity. And we call for the creation of genuine channels for youth participation in governance and decision-making processes.
The Nigerian Observatory for Human Rights will continue to document abuses, amplify the voices of victims, and demand accountability from those in power. We honor the memory of those who lost their lives by refusing to let their deaths be in vain. Justice delayed may be justice denied, but the demand for justice will never be silenced.
#EndSARS #NeverAgain #JusticeForLekkiMassacre
