Today, as your Student Officers, we wanted to acknowledge and show our continued to support to our Nigerian students and staff and all those that have been impacted by the actions of the current Nigerian government in response to the #EndSARS campaign. Whilst as individuals our voices may be small, we share a collective commitment to call out the injustices we see in the world and do what we can to support those fighting for change.

 

#EndSARS is a campaign by the people of Nigeria that began by calling for an end to the SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) police force who were accused of illegal detentions, assaults and shootings. The unit was ‘officially’ dissolved on 11th October. However, the demonstrations and campaigns have continued in calling for wider change across Nigeria. They seek further changes to the security forces nationwide as well as to the way in which the country is run. We stand with all Nigerians in their movement and call for change.

 

The actions that took place this week are unforgiveable. As reported by Amnesty International, whilst the people of Nigeria protested against police brutality, government soldiers opened fire, firing directly at those protesting. We share the belief that all citizens, no matter where they are in the world, have a right to live peacefully, to protest and should not live in fear of government-sponsored violence. With this belief we aim to share, evaluate and support the #EndSARS campaign, and urge others to do the same.

 

We understand that it can be difficult to stay informed and aware about issues that aren’t directly impacting your life. However, when supporting a movement, it is important to stay as up-to-date on the issue as you can and ensure you have the correct information at hand. As with many campaigns that take place online misinformation can easily occur, so it is important you know what is true and what is not. www.GlobalCitizen.org is a great place to start.

 

The campaign is taking place on the streets and online, and it’s important that we add our voices where possible. You can do this by using the hashtag #EndSARS or by sharing the content of others. When lending your voice, it is also important to remember the reasons you are doing it and whose voices needed to be heard.

 

International pressure can have influence and it is right that we use it to fight for the voice of those in Nigeria. You can write to your local MP and get them to raise this in their positions of power, or to the Embassy of Nigeria to put pressure on them to enact change.

 

We also understand that the actions that have taken place may be having a direct impact on your life or mental health. For some of our students this will be particularly close to home and we urge any student that is impacted to contact the University’s support services.