Human Rights Abuse and ENDSARS Protest in Rivers State
Chapter One
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the relationship between human right abuse and EndSARS protest in Rivers state
- To find the causes of EndSARS in Rivers state
- To ascertain whether Nigeria police abuse human right in Rivers state.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Human Rights Violations by SARS
SARS was created in 1992 as a response to violent crime, particularly armed robbery. However, the police unit has come to be known for its high-handed tactics and gross violations of human rights.5 Transgressions cut across a range of human rights including the right to life, freedom from torture, right to a fair trial, right to privacy, and freedom of assembly, all of which are rights protected by the Nigerian constitution.
Right to Life
Violations of the right to life have come in various forms such as extrajudicial killings, shooting of protesters, and other random, unprovoked killings. The Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) found in a 2010 report that extrajudicial executions are a routine feature of policing in Nigeria.6 Human Rights Watch estimates that over 10,000 people were killed by the Nigerian police in the eight years spanning 2000 through 2007.7 The head of the Enugu State division of SARS allegedly told a researcher of the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria that he ordered the extrajudicial executions of only persons whom he knew to be guilty. These killings do not always happen secretly, hidden away in police cells and dungeons. In August 2019, videos surfaced showing men of the Nigerian police force executing arrested suspects in the streets of Lagos. The suspects were alleged to belong to a criminal ring that disguised themselves as phone buyers to lure and rob unsuspecting victims. The police arrested two of the suspects, only to have their summary execution recorded shortly after. Amateur clips of the police shooting the victims in the full glare of the public went viral. In reaction, the Nigerian police announced the arrest of the officers involved.
Freedom from torture
SARS personnel have also been known to routinely torture suspects for “confessions.” The OSJI report states that the practice is so common that many police stations have a person on staff who oversees the torture of detainees and a room set aside for the practice; police personnel even have their own slang for various methods of torture. Amnesty International has also documented cases of torture, most of which emanate from detainees in SARS custody. The police use various forms of brutality, including sexual violence, against detainees and suspects. Some former detainees report having been bound and suspended mid-air in painful positions, kicked and beaten with machetes, gun butts, boots, fists, electrical wires, animal hides, and other instruments. Others describe being shot in limbs, assaulted by police officers while in custody, suffering multiple fractures, or being forced to perform painful calisthenics. Sex workers in particular report being rounded up by the police to be raped. Acknowledging the routine nature of sexual violence by police, one police officer referred to it simply as a “fringe benefit” of certain patrols. In February 2020, BBC Africa published a damning documentary on the use of torture techniques by Nigerian security forces. The video focused on the wide and uniform use of a technique known as Tabay. The technique involves binding detainees in a crude and painful fashion:
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to human rights abuse and EndSARS protest in Rivers state
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information human rights abuse and EndSARS protest in Rivers state. 200 residents in selected in portharcourt, Rivers state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
Sample and sampling procedure
Sample is the set people or items which constitute part of a given population sampling. Due to large size of the target population, the researcher used the Taro Yamani formula to arrive at the sample population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain human rights abuse and EndSARS protest in Rivers state
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of human rights abuse and EndSARS protest in Rivers state
Summary
This study was on human rights abuse and EndSARS protest in Rivers state. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the relationship between human right abuse and EndSARS protest in Rivers state, to find the causes of EndSARS in Rivers state and to ascertain whether Nigeria police abuse human right in Rivers state. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 residents of selected in portharcourt, Rivers state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up youths, businessmen, married men and youths were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
Human rights abuse has become endemic in Nigeria. This is because individuals, groups and state actors are complicit in this vicious circle. In the recent past, human rights violations and abuses have held our people down, devaluing our cherished values and constituting blight on our diplomatic relations with the rest of the world. Therefore, Nigerians must come together to combat these ills by impressing upon their democratically elected government that the principles of democracy and human rights must be sacrosanct
Recommendation
Nigeria government must check psychological aspect of policemen in Nigeria
Any policeman that abuse citizen must be punished
References
- Archbishop Okogie v The Attorney-General of Lagos State, 2. NCLR 350 (Appeal Court:1981) (paras 7-8).
- Funke Fayehun and Uche Isiugo-Abanihe, The Conversation, #EndSARS: How Nigeria can tap into its youthful population (Oct. 25, 2020)
- https://theconversation.com/endsars-how-nigeria-can-tap-into-its-youthfulpopulation-148319
- Punch Newspaper, Black Tuesday: 49 killed as protests turn bloody (Oct.21, 2020)
- https://punchng.com/blacktuesday-49-killed-as-protests-turn-bloody/. 22 Timilehin Omilana, Independent, I pretended I was dead (Oct. 23, 2020) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nigeria-protests-end-sars-lagos-riot-looting-b1228242.html. 23
- Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo, Premium Times, Looting across Nigeria as arsonists, hoodlums, thieves, take control (Oct. 25, 2020)
- https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/422994-looting-across-nigeria-as-arsonistshoodlums-thieves-take-control.html. 24
- Vanguard Newspaper, #EndSARS: Looting spree in nine states (Oct. 25, 2020)
- https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/10/endsars-looting-spree-in-nine-states/. 25
- Bukola Adebayo, CNN, Nigeria overtakes India in extreme poverty ranking (June 26, 2018) https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/26/africa/nigeria-overtakes-india-extreme-poverty-intl/index.html. 26
- Olorunwa Lawal, News Central, SERAP Asks ICPC To Probe Alleged Hoarding Of COVID-19
