PERCEPTIONS OF YOUTHS ON POLICE BRUTALITY, INJUSTICE AND ENDSARS PROTEST AMONG NIGERIANS
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PERCEPTIONS OF YOUTHS ON POLICE BRUTALITY, INJUSTICE AND ENDSARS PROTEST AMONG NIGERIANS
Abstract
Most societies regard youth as the source of all evils. Youths are portrayed as the epicentre of violence, whether political, ethnic, religious, gang-related, or otherwise. Any society that does not protect or care for the rights and interests of its youths will never be safe or prosperous.
Every civilization will be safe if it has ideas and a mechanism in place to maintain justice. Youth should not be abandoned to the mercy of poverty, inequality, a lack of adequate education, and unemployment.
Failure to invest in, promote, and safeguard youths may lead to radicalization, an increase in violent acts, and extremism. This study looks at how young people perceive police brutality, unfairness, and the EndSARS protest. The protest’s compliance with due process and the difficulties confronting Nigerian youths are examined.
The article is a content analysis, and it demonstrated that the EndSARS protest is not only about the violence and disbandment of SARS, but also about reforming the entire Nigerian Police Force and other government lukewarm attitudes towards Nigerian youths.
The article demonstrates how short-sighted policymaking fails to adequately integrate the concerns of youth. Because youngsters are not involved in political and economic structures, they engage in a succession of agitations and violent activities such as political thuggery, armed robbery, e
thno-religious crises, kidnapping, and so on. It is suggested that restructuring the Nigerian Police Force will bring out the rotten apples. The public and Nigerian youths may reestablish trust in the institution. It concluded that public trust in the NPF should be restored.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the research
Nigeria is one of the African countries with the highest population density and the greatest social diversity. Nigeria has a population of youths that exceeds that of certain African countries. Youths have made significant contributions to Nigeria’s development over the years in areas such as democracy, government, politics, economy, security, and community development (Yusuf, 2019).
In addition, youths in Nigeria have been heavily interested in self-help projects. Youths’ social and psychological disposition and degree of productivity as a progressive force for development are achievable when supplied with the knowledge and chances they require to thrive.
As several of the adolescents’ issues, this is dependent on society’s willingness to empower them in social, economic, political, and legal dimensions. Omoju and Abraham (2014) cited additional young difficulties in Nigeria,
including youth unemployment and underemployment, limited access to school and a lack of economic prospects, a lack of basic education, a high HIV prevalence rate, and a high poverty rate, among others.
To encourage youth leadership and more inclusive politics, more than 100 youth organisations in Nigeria mobilised in 2016 under the hashtag #Not-Too-Young-To-Run for constitutional amendment to decrease the eligibility age to run for political office. It aims to lower the age limit for running for political office in order to promote good governance and youth political involvement (Krook and Nugent, 2018).
The youth movement in Nigeria began many years before, but the organised one was founded in 1934 under the name Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) and was located in Lagos.
Its principal goals were to create a united Nigeria from the conglomeration of people who lived in Nigeria, as well as to promote perfect understanding and a sense of common nationality among various groups in the country.
Politically, it aimed to promote indigenous Nigerian participation in civil service and administration, with the ultimate goal of achieving self-rule. Furthermore, in an effort to encourage inter-tribal collaboration, the organisation formed branches in urban areas across the country (Gann, 2011).
Youth movements can be positive or negative, but as far as the government is concerned, any type of youth movement, positive or negative, will have an impact on the current government’s interests. Because it reminds the government that several initiatives, such as the EndSARS youth movement, were not effectively adopted or executed, it is requesting that the entire policy be changed.
EndSARS protestors are a group of Nigerian youths united under the banner of the New Nigerian Youth Movement (NNYM) who want the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit disbanded, as well as other reforms in the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
Their demands at the start of the EndSARS movement were extremely plain and unambiguous, pushing the government to eradicate SARS, provide justice to victims of police violence, and reform the police.
A video recording of police officers believed to be members of the SARS unit purportedly shooting an unarmed young guy sparked the demonstration (Ukpe, 2020). What began as a peaceful protest by hundreds of Nigerian youths in several areas devolved into chaos after the protests were hijacked by hoodlums.
Unpatriotic youngsters took over the protest to pursue self-centered interests in violation of the law, changing the movement’s narrative. Citizens’ rights were violated, lives were lost, and property worth billions of naira was taken and destroyed,
among other things. Other causes for the EndSARS protest include Nigeria’s political and economic frameworks, which have failed to adequately integrate the needs of youth. This is what prompted Kamorudeen to state:
“the manipulation of the political and economic structure by political elites have endangered high rate of youth unemployment and underemployment, poverty, poor access to quality education, and poor access to political opportunities,
thereby influencing Nigerian youths to indulge in series of agitations and violent act reflected in political thuggery, armed robbery, ethno-religious crises, kidnapping etc.” (Kamarudeen et al., 2011; 171)
As a result, the prevalence of youth violence in modern Nigeria is on the rise, causing public concern because violence is considered as antithetical to individual and national development. Nigeria has become a violent nation, with youngsters at the epicentre of most of it.
No section of Nigeria is immune to violence, which includes the Boko Haram insurgency, herdsmen-farmer conflicts, ethno-religious conflicts, kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, and EndSARS protests, among other things. Against this backdrop, this study investigates the young movement, specifically the EndSARS protest, and the issues that youth face in the country.
As a result, the document is split into seven pieces. Section one is an introduction, while Section two is on the conceptual framework. Section three explores the empirical review, while Section four looks at youngsters and Nigerian police during the EndSARS rally.
This explains why the connection between Nigerian youths and the NPF has deteriorated. Section five discusses the issues that Nigerian adolescents face, while Section six offers recommendations and Section seven provides a conclusion.
Statement of the Problem
Police brutality has become a divisive issue; in Nigeria, the argument is still ongoing. Police brutality, critics believe, leads to misuse of authority and a subtle trend towards a police state. The argument around police brutality has generally focused on the question of the use of violence and excessive force.
The selective use of violent crime data by both advocates and opponents of police brutality has added to the confusion. It has been argued that military weaponry obtained through violence has encouraged the use of military techniques that imperil civil freedoms.
According to critics, the most major impact of police violence has been on police culture. They believe that violence has encouraged an overly aggressive style of police that views force as the primary means of resolving societal problems, encourages the use of needless and excessive force, and educates officers to view residents as enemies.
Proponents, on the other hand, think that some level of police violence is required to address growing dangers like as terrorism, domestic violent extremism, and attacks by heavily armed violent criminals.
According to this reasoning, police have been obliged to utilise military-style weapons and protective equipment in order to keep up with an ever-changing adversary.
The implications of the police brutality issue are significant. At one end of the scale, police brutality rules may render officers ineffectual in protecting the public or themselves from a variety of rising threats.
On the opposite end of the scale, unrestricted militarised police operations might significantly impair civil liberties and result in considerable public support loss.
The effectiveness of the police is heavily reliant on public support, and that support is conditional on the public believing that the police are using their authority legitimately. As police are granted tremendous amounts of discretion, it is crucial that these systems be subjected to critical and ongoing review.
The issue of police brutality must be thoroughly investigated in order to ensure that law enforcement maintains its credibility while preserving popular support. This study will look at how young people in Nigeria perceive police violence, injustice, and the Endars protest.
objectives of the Study
The overall goal of this research is to analyse young perceptions of police brutality, injustice, and the Endars protest in Oyo State, Nigeria.
Other Purposes
To assess the extent of police violence in Oyo State.
To ascertain the sources of unfairness among Nigerian police personnel in the state of Oyo.
To ascertain the impact of Endars’ protest on police brutality.
Research Questions
How bad is police brutality in Oyo state?
What factors contribute to injustice among Nigerian police personnel in Oyo State?
What impact has the Endars protest had on police brutality?
H01 research hypothesis: There is no substantial difference in the perceptions of Oyo state teenagers about police brutality and unfairness.
H02: The Endars protest had no discernible influence on police brutality.
1.6 Significance of Research
The Nigerian police force is the major supplier of security in Nigeria; the force is tasked with preserving human lives and property; yet, the police system has been observed to depart from its fundamental obligations and tasks over the years. This research will provide documentation of police acts that resulted in police brutality, injustice, and the endsars protest.
This will offer policymakers with knowledge to make reforms in the police system in order to stop the existing unfairness and brutality meted out by the police to citizens.
This research will be used for scholarly purposes on the topic of police violence and will offer context to the debate surrounding the Endars protest.
1.7 Scope of The Study
The research will focus on police brutality, police injustice, and the 2020 Endars protest in Oyo State.
The study would be limited to Oyo State youths.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
Financial constraint- A lack of funds tends to restrict the researcher’s efficiency in locating relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in the data collection procedure (internet, questionnaire, and interview).
Time constraint- The researcher will conduct this investigation alongside other academic activities. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.
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