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Nigerians Protest against Police Brutality Despite Government's Promise to
Disband Special Unit

Stacey Knott

   ACCRA, GHANA - Thousands of Nigerians marched in Lagos and other cities
   Monday to demand an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, a
   police unit accused of extrajudicial killings and abuses. The
   government announced Sunday the unit will be disbanded, but many
   Nigerians are skeptical, as officials have promised an end to the unit
   and its alleged abuses before.

   In an address on Monday, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said SARS
   officers responsible for wrongful acts would be brought to justice. He
   said disbanding the unit was the first step to extensive police reforms
   to ensure the primary duty of police would be to protect lives and the
   livelihoods of people.

   However, singer-songwriter Davvyd Moore, who joined the protests
   against SARS in Lagos Monday, said any promises by the government need
   to come with real actions, as Nigeria has seen pledges of SARS reform
   before, to no avail.

   Moore believes the government is merely trying to placate the
   protesters.

   He and fellow activists are calling for rogue police to be investigated
   and punished by an independent body, and for those arrested during the
   ongoing protests to be released.

   He said there also needs to be justice for people killed or abused by
   police.

   Moore said reports of arrests, abuses and deaths during the protests
   were not a deterrent.

   "It's not going to stop us. That should be a motivation. Imagine a
   cause worth dying for. You see people dying, and you know people have
   died. And what we have started, if we don't finish it, that's very
   cowardly. We won't step back -- not for a second. We will keep pushing
   further until the government gives to us what we demand," he said.

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