Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, has described the End SARS protest as the beginning of “irresponsible protesting” in Nigeria.
The End SARS protest, which took place in 2020 across major Nigerian cities, lasted for two weeks as Nigerians demanded the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a division of the Nigerian police known for its brutality and extrajudicial killings.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Feb. 12, while appearing on News Central Television, Bwala stated that the End SARS protest marked the beginning of irresponsible protesting in the country. He argued that prior protests had been organised, but EndSARS lacked structure.
He said: “You want to shut down law and order in the country. There is no police anywhere in the world that will close their eyes to that fact.
“End SARS was the beginning and the foundation of irresponsible protesting. Before End SARS, all the protests that we had in the country were organised. That’s why they were called organised protests.
“But the government didn’t shut down the protesters. However, there were misadventures by law enforcement, and I admit that. That’s why a panel was formed to investigate, and it released its findings. But many of the subsequent reports were based on fake news, particularly from CNN, which exaggerated several aspects of the story.”