A group of Nigerians have stormed the Nigerian High Commission in Australia seeking an end to police brutality and extra-judicial killings in Nigeria.
The protesters said the demonstration is in solidarity with the ongoing protests in Nigeria.
In a video clip obtained by Channels Television on Monday, the protesters can be seen chanting “End SARS,” “End SARS.” with some of them narrating their experience as victims of police brutality by the Nigeria Police.
“Some of us here have lost brothers, we have lost cousins. Some of us are survivors. We are survivors of police brutality,” one of the protesters said.
“You go about in Nigeria; you can’t even go about your daily duties. Why would we be governed by people who are charlatans in power?
“Why would we be governed by people who do not apply rural decency? Why would we allow injustice to thrive on our street?” he questioned.
The #EndSARS protests calling for an end to police brutality; extrajudicial killings and scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) – a unit of the police force notorious for human rights abuse – have continued for over 12 days.
Nigeria’s police chief, Mohammed Adamu, had on heels of the disbandment of SARS, announced a new tactical unit – Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) – to replace the scrapped arm of the force.
Irked by the move, more Nigerians trooped to the streets, calling for the rejection of the new unit.
Using the #EndSWAT hashtag on the social media platform, Twitter, the protesters believe the new arm of the police would be no different from the disbanded SARS.
They argue that the introduction of SWAT is ill-timed and does not align with their demands for a reformation of the country’s policing system.
