ENCOUNTERING PROTEST AND REPRESSION IN NIGERIA: CASE OF EndSARS MOVEMENT

Abstract

The article investigates protest and repression in Nigeria from a historical and contemporary perspective. Since the pre-colonial and colonial years, Nigerian societies under these two epochs witnessed protests and repressive government acts to address the outcomes of protests. However, beyond the two periods, the post-colonial period has also witnessed a series of protests under military and democratic regimes against economic and political crises, the nation's state and bad governance. However, one of these protests which shook the political space in the Nigeria Fourth Republic was the EndSARS protest. The EndSARS protest started from a campaign against police brutality to agitations against bad governance in Nigeria. Government repressive response led to the use of firearms in an attempt to disband the protesters. The article also examines the implication of protest and government repressive response of the state of democracy. Using secondary data sources, the article presents vivid evidence of protest and government repression despite the legitimacy of the protest.