The police high command has categorically denied the claim by Shehu Sani that some young people have been in detention since the 2020 #EndSARS protests. Sani made the claim at the 2024 Democracy Day Dinner on June 12, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

#EndSARS was a decentralised social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality, majorly by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria. The protesters called for the disbandment of the police outfit. But the protests ended when soldiers opened fire on and killed flag-wielding youths at Lekki Tollgate.

The protests originated from a Twitter campaign in 2017, using the hashtag #EndSARS to demand the unit’s disbandment by the Nigerian government. The movement experienced a resurgence in October 2020 following further revelations of the unit’s abuses, leading to mass demonstrations across major cities in Nigeria, and widespread outrage on social media platforms.

The hashtag #EndSARS accumulated over 28 million tweets.

Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, while faulting Sani, said the Nigeria police affirmed that no individual was being unlawfully detained by the force or any other security agency in Nigeria due to the #EndSARS protest.

He stated: “All arrested individuals have been processed according to the law, and none remains unlawfully detained. In Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu pardoned approximately 100 suspects arrested by the police during the protest.

“For emphasis, no one anywhere in Nigeria is under police detention or being wrongly persecuted for participating in the #EndSARS protest. The issues surrounding the protest have been debated, researched and documented, and lessons have been learned. We have forgiven ourselves and moved on.

“We urge the public to disregard this claim and remain assured of our commitment to upholding justice, the rule of law and human rights. We encourage verifying information before making public statements to avoid harm and incitement.”

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