Six years after #EndSARS, police impunity persists – RULAAC

The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has accused the Nigerian police of sustaining a culture of impunity six years after the #EndSARS protests.

The organisation cited continuing allegations of torture, unlawful detention, extortion, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

In a statement on Tuesday, marking the sixth anniversary of the protests, the organisation’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, argued that the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and subsequent reform measures had failed to fundamentally change the police practices that triggered the nationwide demonstrations in October 2020.

“The central question six years after #EndSARS is therefore not whether reforms were announced, but whether policing has become more lawful, professional, humane and accountable,” RULAAC wrote. “The available evidence shows that the gap between promise and practice remains dangerously wide.”

RULAAC is a not-for-profit non-governmental human rights advocacy organisation established with a commitment to promoting law enforcement accountability, transparent and responsible policing, and respect for human rights and the rule of law.

It played critical roles before, during and after the October 2020 #EndSRAS protest.

The October 2020 #EndSARS protests followed years of allegations of police brutality, including torture, extortion, unlawful detention and extrajudicial killings.

The demonstrations led to the disbandment of SARS and the establishment of judicial panels of inquiry to investigate complaints and recommend remedies.

The panels received thousands of petitions, with some victims awarded compensation and officers recommended for prosecution or disciplinary action.

‘Implementation of planned reform remains still weak’

RULAAC acknowledged that the panels provided opportunities for victims and families to testify publicly, and that some victims received compensation.

However, it described the implementation of the panels’ recommendations as “fragmented, opaque and inadequate”, particularly regarding criminal accountability, institutional reform, rehabilitation and comprehensive redress for victims.

The organisation questioned how many former SARS personnel had been investigated, disciplined, dismissed or prosecuted, how many had undergone psychological assessment and retraining, and where those redeployed had been posted.

“Redeployment is not accountability, and changing the name of a police unit is not institutional reform,” it maintained.

RULAAC also said the Police Act 2020, the Anti-Torture Act 2017, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and corresponding state laws provided safeguards against arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, torture and other abuses. But argued that everyday police practices continued to fall short of those legal protections.

Among the practices it identified were arrests before investigations, police involvement in civil disputes and debt recovery, prolonged detention without lawful justification, denial of access to lawyers and relatives, coercive interrogation and demands for unlawful payments as conditions for bail or release.

The organisation said these practices reflected deeper institutional failures involving operational culture, incentives, supervision, command responsibility and accountability.

It argued that the problems exposed by the #EndSARS protests predated October 2020 and reflected years of ignored warnings about police misconduct.

Mr Nwanguma recalled that, before establishing RULAAC, he had served as national coordinator of the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria and headed the Police Research Project of the Civil Liberties Organisation. Through these platforms, he said, civil society groups had documented abuses, supported victims, submitted petitions and pursued litigation.

He said successive inspectors-general of police had announced restrictions and restructuring measures for SARS, but the abuses continued because the directives were rarely followed by transparent investigations, effective supervision or meaningful sanctions.

Survivors still seeking justice

In order to show that survivors are still seeking justice six years after, RULAAC cited the case of a woman identified as Ngozichukwu, who it said was abducted, taken to Abuja and severely tortured at a facility associated with the Intelligence Response Team formerly led by Abba Kyari.

According to the organisation, Ngozichukwu was subjected to further torture after her transfer to Abuja, suffering fractured wrists and deep cuts. RULAAC also alleged that she was starved, denied medical treatment and held for a prolonged period in degrading conditions.

The organisation maintained that she was targeted because she contributed a small amount of money towards medical treatment for people injured during the #EndSARS period in the South-east.

RULAAC said Ngozichukwu subsequently instituted a fundamental rights enforcement action and obtained a judgement against the police. It alleged that the police had neither complied with the judgment nor paid the compensation awarded to her.

It called on the Inspector-General of Police and other responsible authorities to ensure immediate compliance with the court’s orders.

“A police institution constitutionally charged with enforcing the law cannot place itself above the law,” RULAAC argued, insisting that compliance with court judgments was not optional.

The organisation said the case illustrated how victims could face further injustice even after securing favourable judgments against the police.

It also raised concerns about the case of Adaeze Akwaja, who it said had described severe torture involving personnel associated with Tiger Base in Imo State and the former Abba Kyari team.

According to RULAAC, Ms Akwaja continues to suffer serious health complications arising from the alleged abuse. The organisation called for an independent investigation, appropriate medical documentation and effective remedies.

“Survivors should not have to become campaigners before the state recognises and protects their rights,” it said.

Coroner’s findings raise fresh questions about Tiger Base

RULAAC also called for the implementation of recommendations arising from a coroner’s inquest into the death of Japheth Njoku.

A coroner is a judicial officer appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding a death, particularly where the death is sudden, unexplained or occurs in suspicious circumstances.

According to reports of the coroner’s findings, 32-year-old Japheth Njoku died in police custody at Tiger Base, the Imo State Police Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Owerri, in May 2025.

He had been detained for about six weeks over an alleged theft. The coroner recommended prosecuting two police officers over alleged extortion and corruption and compensating Njoku’s family.

RULAAC said the coroner’s findings, issued late Septrmeber, identified serious misconduct connected with Mr Njoku’s detention at Tiger Base, including torture, overcrowding, extortion and denial of bail.

It urged the relevant authorities to implement the recommendations, including further investigation, prosecution where supported by evidence and appropriate disciplinary action, while respecting due process.

RULAAC also referred to accounts of people allegedly arrested and transferred to distant detention facilities, held incommunicado or denied access to their families and lawyers. It said some families continued to search for relatives whose whereabouts remained unknown.

Mr Nwanguma noted that “No family should be forced to search indefinitely through police stations, military facilities, detention centres and mortuaries for a relative taken away by state agents,” the organisation declared.

It called for a central electronic custody register, mandatory notification of arrests and transfers, independent access to detention facilities and effective investigations into alleged enforced disappearances.

Demands

RULAAC called on President Bola Tinubu, the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission, the National Assembly, the National Human Rights Commission, state governments and relevant prosecutorial authorities to demonstrate measurable progress on police reform.

Its demands include full implementation of existing laws, publication of outstanding judicial-panel reports, an audit of former SARS personnel and independent investigations into allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and deaths in custody.

It also called for stronger civilian oversight, publication of disciplinary outcomes, protection for complainants and witnesses, and effective enforcement of court judgments against the police.

RULAAC also called for improved police welfare, including better remuneration, accommodation, operational resources, insurance, retirement benefits and psychological support.

It maintained, however, that poor working conditions could not justify torture, extortion, unlawful detention or extrajudicial killing.

“Police officers deserve dignity, fair treatment and decent working conditions. Citizens deserve safety, respect and protection from abuse,” the organisation said. “These objectives are complementary, not contradictory.”

RULAAC said Nigeria needed consistent enforcement of existing laws and demonstrable changes in how officers exercised their powers, rather than another cycle of reform announcements.

It added that the events at the Lekki Toll Gate on 20 October 2020 remained a defining symbol of the breakdown of trust between citizens and the state, with unresolved questions about the use of force against protesters and accountability for violations continuing to cast a shadow over the government’s response.

“Nigeria owes victims and their families more than remembrance,” the organisation said. “It owes them truth, justice, effective remedies and guarantees of non-recurrence.”

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RULAAC and #EndSARS

RULAAC is committed to policing accountability. It focuses on legal defence, policy criticism, and documentation of human rights violations.

It has consistently documented the atrocities committed by the now-defunct SARS before the 2020 protests.

RULAAC publicly denounced an attempt by the Lagos State Police Command to declare a blanket ban on public demonstrations during the height of the protests in 2023.
The organisation has also acted as a primary watchdog during annual #EndSARS memorials, at including the Lekki Tollgate, where security operatives opened fire on peaceful protests on the night of 20 October 2020.
It continues to demand the full implementation of the reports from the judicial panels of inquiry set up to look into cases of police brutality and recommend compensations and reforms.