Promises made after EndSARS protests have remained unfulfilled 5 years after - RULAAC

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By Madu Obi

The Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocate Center, RULAAC, Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, has lamented that promises made to Nigerians after the infamous EndSARS protests have remained unfulfilled five years after the incident.

In a statement he made to mark five years of the protests that claimed many lives, Nwanguma observed that Police reform has failed Nigeria.

He recalled that although government disbanded SARS, it almost immediately set up the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit as its replacement which, to Nigerians, was an old wine in a new bottle.

According to him, the Nigeria Police, which he described as a colonial legacy, was never designed to serve the people.

He said: "Five years later, the promises that followed the protests lie unfulfilled. The same patterns of brutality, extortion, and impunity persist. Police reform, loudly proclaimed in 2020, has failed yet again. To understand why, we must look beyond slogans to the structural and political roots of Nigeria’s policing crisis.

The judicial panels of inquiry established after #EndSARS heard horrifying testimonies of torture, extortion, unlawful detention, and extrajudicial killings. Some state panels made recommendations for compensation and prosecution.

Very few have been implemented. Families of victims still await justice, while perpetrators continue to wear the uniform of the state - sometimes even promoted.

This sustained failure to investigate, punish, and remedy abuses violates Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights law and reinforces public mistrust. It signals that the state values impunity over justice.

Five years after #EndSARS, the conditions that triggered the protests remain unchanged. Insecurity has deepened across the country. Kidnapping, banditry, and extrajudicial killings flourish. Citizens do not trust the police, and the police do not trust citizens - a breakdown that undermines the very essence of public safety.

Young Nigerians, the same demographic that drove the #EndSARS movement, continue to be profiled, harassed, and extorted. Being young, tech-savvy, or well-dressed remains grounds for unlawful arrest or intimidation. The system has learned nothing."

Nwanguma noted that the Police, which was created by colonial authorities, functioned as an instrument of coercion as it was meant to enforce order, not justice; and to protect the state, not citizens.

"That legacy endures. Despite talk of reform, the policing philosophy remains authoritarian, rather than democratic", he said.

He said further: "The passage of the Police Act 2020 appeared, at first, to signal a new beginning. It replaced the colonial-era Police Act of 1943, enshrining principles of accountability, human rights, and community partnership. It prohibited torture, guaranteed access to legal representation, and mandated due process. It also promised stable leadership and transparent funding.

On paper, it was a watershed, but in practice, it has been largely ignored. Nigeria’s failure to reform the police is not for lack of ideas or laws.

Since 2006, more than a dozen presidential committees have proposed comprehensive reforms. Each time, the pattern repeats: public hearings, elaborate reports, white papers, lofty promises - and silence.

The Police Council, constitutionally empowered to guide policy and leadership appointments, rarely meets. Presidents continue to appoint Inspectors-General based on loyalty rather than merit, undermining professionalism."

Nwanguma noted that EndSARS was not just a protest, adding that it was a mirror held up to the Nigerian state.

"It exposed the failure of governance, the erosion of trust, and the cost of neglecting accountability. It also revealed the courage, creativity, and solidarity of Nigerian youth - qualities the nation must nurture, not crush.

As we mark five years since #EndSARS, RULAAC remembers the victims - those who were killed, wounded, and traumatized. We honor their courage and reaffirm our commitment to the cause for which they stood: justice, accountability, and a humane policing system.

"The struggle for police reform is far from over. Until Nigeria dismantles the colonial DNA of repression and builds a truly democratic police service founded on rights, empathy, and partnership with the people, the spirit of #EndSARS will continue to live", he concluded