Nigeria’s #EndSARS Movement, In Photos
Bukunmi Oyewole
My images show a community of vibrant youths full of energy and vigour. Young people who have refused to be brutalised anymore, who know and stand for their rights, even with a heart felt pain burning deep in them, they stood in unison to protect one another.
They are saying enough is enough. Enough of the atrocities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), enough of the killings, enough of the extortion, enough of the constant harassment of the youths.
I took these photographs to amplify the voices of the people, the protesters, the youths. I wanted to depict their struggle for peace, their struggle for equality, and their fight for innocent bloods unduly shed.
Nigeria operates a democratic system of government which should be described as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Citizens of the country are entitled to some basic norms, which help to protect them from political, social and legal abuses.
The Executive arm of government is responsible for the adequate preservation of her citizen's fundamental human rights. Nigeria was in a situation in which the executive arm of government failed to carry out its responsibilities resulting in the #ENDSARS movement.
This movement encompassed a form of resistance from society as a result of the maltreatment from the Special Anti-robbery squad (SARS). The squad was created to tackle issues of armed robbery, cultism, kidnapping etc in the society but the reverse was the case. Innocent citizens were harassed, maimed, murdered in cold blood, jailed unjustly, and extorted by SARS. They did every societal ills one can think of, and Nigerian youths are mostly the victims.
The aim of this movement was to lend a loud voice in the society to expose the antics of SARS, and to educate the public to avoid falling victims of their inhuman acts. Protests were organised in all the affected states in the country, there was solidarity among all the youths to fight a common enemy: SARS.
The movement aimed to re-awaken the general public (nationally and internationally) on their fundamental human rights which were being trampled on. It helped to increase the level of confidence of the youths which made them able to stand up to any opposition.
Although the squad has been rebranded by the government, the youth still live in apprehension as to who will be the next to be victimised.
My reason for documenting the protest is to contribute my own voice to the movement, to shed more light on other people's voices, to be able to say I did not keep quiet, and to record the day's realities because they will be relevant in many years to come.
