Five years after the #EndSARS protests shook Nigeria and forced the disbandment of the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the question still lingers: has anything truly changed within the nation’s police force? Despite promises of reform, new laws, and countless panels of inquiry, reports of extortion, brutality, and impunity remain stubbornly familiar. Sunday Ehigiator reflects opinions of the youth population, security experts, and human rights activists on whether the movement that once united a generation has yielded lasting transformation in the Nigerian police, or merely renamed the problem
On October 20, 2020, gunfire pierced the night sky at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos, cutting short the chants of a generation that had risen in unity to demand justice and accountability.
The #EndSARS protests, led largely by young Nigerians, were not just about ending police brutality; they were a cry against oppression, corruption, and systemic failure.
Five years later, as the nation marks yet another anniversary of that fateful day, however, one question lingers: Was it worth it? And if it was, have the police changed for the better?
Executive Director, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma
Speaking with THISDAY, Human Rights Activist and the Executive Director, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma noted that “Was it worth it? Yes. Absolutely; the #EndSARS protest was one of the most important civic moments in Nigeria’s recent history.
“It broke the silence around police brutality and forced a national conversation about accountability, governance, and human rights. It also reaffirmed the power of citizens, especially young Nigerians, to demand justice and dignity.
“However, five years later, the sad truth is that police reform has barely moved beyond rhetoric.
“It is important to note that the Police Act 2020, a landmark legislation that repealed the colonial-era Police Act, was passed and signed into law in September 2020, just a month before the protests erupted. That Act provided a comprehensive framework for democratic policing, emphasising accountability, human rights, and community partnership.
“If it had been faithfully implemented, much of what triggered #EndSARS could have been prevented. Instead, implementation has been slow, selective, and largely unsatisfactory. The same old practices- extortion, torture, extrajudicial killings, and political interference- persist.
“The problem has never been the absence of good laws, but the absence of political will. #EndSARS was worth it because it exposed the rot and put reform on the national agenda. But five years on, the Nigerian state has yet to demonstrate the sincerity or courage to turn those lessons into action.
“Until the Police Act 2020 is fully implemented, until accountability becomes real and officers are treated with dignity, Nigeria will continue to circle back to the same crisis.
“#EndSARS was not just a protest; it was a demand for a new social contract between the police and the people. That demand remains unmet.”
Executive Director, COMPPART Foundation, Saviour Akpan Esq
In his remarks, the Executive Director COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peacebuilding, Saviour Akpan said, “It is not about whether the Police have changed but whether Nigerians who employ the Police and patronise their services have been able to provide them with the right tools to work with?
“When I talk about the right tools, I mean, telling the truth to enable them to understand how best to solve their problems, for example, if someone is indebted to you, which is a civil matter, and the Police are barred from handling civil cases, have Nigerians refrained from criminalising civil complaints simply because they want to show vindictiveness?
“Secondly, have we as Nigerians recognised that we are all citizens and should first fulfil our national responsibilities to claim our rights?
“When we answer questions like these and many others, it is then that we can evaluate the benefit of the #EndSARS protest but if we continue to do what we always do, we will get what we always got.
“However, the way out is that there should be a recognition of the fact that nobody can join the Nigeria Police Force without first being a Nigerian; therefore, we should all see ourselves as Nigerians.
“The Inspector General of Police, for example, and Commissioners of Police should STOP addressing Nigerians as ‘Members of the Public’, but should use the word ‘fellow citizens’ and residents of Nigeria to accommodate our non-Nigerian investors and visitors.
“The Police should think of and devise means to build public confidence and earn trust, and doing these will be first through effective implementation of Community Oriented and Human Rights Based Policing, which is proactive and pragmatic.”
Voice of the Youth
Also speaking, Sales Manager, West Africa Tire Services Nig, Okesola Kolawole, noted that, “#EndSARS is one of the memorable days that brought cooperation, unity and love amongst every tribe and religion.
“It sent a very loud signal to the Nigerian police force on how to deal with citizens, but the way they operate will not allow them to take corrective action, only if they are independent and the entire police force is restructured.
“Was the protest worth it? Yes, because the citizens came together with one voice irrespective of tribe and religion, and that clearly sends a reminder to all our leaders that our common enemy as Nigerian youth is bad leadership, which police brutality forms a part of. That unity and uniting force still exist today.
“Also, that protest has made police a bit cautious in their operations today, and there is improved accountability, as we have seen in the number of disciplinary actions that Nigerian police have taken against erring officers since the protest. This is one of the gains I can ascribe to the protest.”
Also speaking, Environmental Justice Advocate and Businessman, Macdonald Irabor, noted that, “#EndSARS was supposed to be a successful protest on police brutality, but the lack of leadership on the part of the organisers derailed the movement. I think the movement achieved little impact after the protest, which has now filtered away, because some of the officers are back to their normal reckless behaviours.”
Similarly, a concerned youth and Medical Doctor, Dr Peter Ogunjobi, noted that, “I think it was necessary, though maybe not successful, as the demands of the protesting youths weren’t met. And as for the police, they haven’t really changed; they only appear to have reduced the impunity with which they harass the masses.”
Another youth, Saheed Olukotun, who described himself as ‘a tired Nigerian’, opined that, “#EndSARS was a movement for people to protest against the injustice perpetrated by the disbanded SARS unit of the Nigeria police force.
“It grew into something bigger due to the several injustices boiling in the average Nigerian. Was it worth it? Yes and No; have the police changed? The rot in the police is systematic and will take years of effective leadership to change. The missing link is that Nigeria and Nigerians aren’t yet ready for the country we crave for.”
Executive Director, CHRCR, Idris Maliki Abdul
Also speaking with THISDAY, Executive Director of Consensus for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Idris Maliki Abdul noted that the movement, though born out of a noble cause, was not properly organised.
According to him, “the concept and the objective initially were okay, to point out the excesses of the Nigerian police, particularly SARS, but it was not properly planned, and there were no coordinating mechanisms at various structures.
“The police are in every local government. So when you are protesting against the police, you have to build a structure or organisation that can respond.
“In terms of police changes, I think there are some elements of consciousness among citizens against the police. That is what #EndSARS achieved. The Nigerian police today are more concerned because when they are molesting somebody, you take pictures, you do video. So they are more conscious now. However, in terms of the attitude of the police, the protest has not really achieved the desired result.”
Discussing the state of policing, Abdul lamented that “the funding of the police is highly inadequate. Go to police barracks and stations and see where they live. Even at police headquarters around 9 p.m., there is no light. The DPO has made money through the system but cannot buy fuel of ₦10,000 to put in the generator.”
He blamed this on mismanagement, noting that “the private sector doesn’t behave like that; when you make money, you reinvest to get your job done properly.” Abdu urged Nigerians to demand accountability in police budgeting.
The Human Cost and Unhealed Wounds
For survivors and victims’ families, the scars of EndSARS remain fresh. The government’s denial, some arrested protesters still languishing in prison, and inconsistent responses have deepened the pain. The Lekki Tollgate shootings, officially disputed by the authorities, are etched into the nation’s collective memory as a symbol of betrayal.
Each year, vigils are held in memory of the dead. Candles are lit, names are read aloud, and the question resurfaces: What did they die for?
To many young Nigerians, the protests were worth it; not because they achieved immediate change, but because they shattered fear and awakened civic consciousness. EndSARS gave birth to a generation that now demands accountability in governance, from police reform to electoral participation.
As activist Rinu Oduala, one of the protest’s frontline figures, noted in an interview, “EndSARS was never a failure; it was a beginning; we learned to organise, to demand, and to speak without fear; that spirit lives on,” and every October 20, the echoes of those chants, ‘Soro Soke!’ (Speak up!), will always remind Nigerians that silence, too, is a form of violence.
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