What is the #EndSars movement in Nigeria? | #TheCube

After 13 days of protests against alleged police brutality, authorities have imposed a 24-hour curfew in Lagos.
After 13 days of protests against alleged police brutality, authorities have imposed a 24-hour curfew in Lagos. Copyright AP Photo/Sunday Alamba
Copyright AP Photo/Sunday Alamba
By The Cube
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The #EndSars hashtag has been trending for weeks, calling for an end to police brutality in Nigeria.

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On Tuesday evening, images flooded social media of a panicked crowd escaping gunshots in Lagos, Nigeria.

Amnesty International said in a statement that they had received "credible evidence" that peaceful protestors were shot at, while witnesses have told Euronews that security forces had opened fire, hitting several demonstrators at the Lekki toll gate.

Video footage from the scene showed protestors sitting on the ground and signing the national anthem prior to the shooting.

Demonstrators had been protesting for 12 consecutive days against the police unit known as Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The force, set up in 1992, has been accused of police brutality and targeting young Nigerians.

Amnesty International has recorded at least 82 cases of torture, ill-treatment, and extra-judicial execution by SARS between January 2017 and May 2020.

#EndSars has been trending across the globe over the past few weeks with mounting international support for the demonstrators.

Click on the player above as Jerry Bambi speaks with Seana Davis in #TheCube about the security force and what we know about the demonstrations.

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