This EndSARS Matter - An Interview with YouthHubAfrica

Almost two years after the nationwide EndSARS protest, which sparked off as a result of police brutality against Nigerian citizens, Cognito and Nine, Voice Linking and Learning facilitator, engaged in a very enlightening conversation with YouthHubAfrica on their project, ‘You Matter In this Matter’, a Voice-funded effort focused on reducing police brutality in Nigeria. 

The ’You Matter In This Matter’ project, led by youths and targeting mostly young people, focuses on getting justice for the victims of the EndSARS protest that took place in October 2020. It emphasizes that young people are relevant and should be supported and heard in their demand for an end to police brutality and better governance.  

The project, which commenced in September 2021, is implemented in four States: Ebonyi, Oyo, Ebonyi and FCT and aims to expand civic spaces in the aforementioned states and the FCT which will lead to heightened tracking of the government’s EndSARS promises by citizens, and a reduction in human rights violations.

YouthHubAfrica is a renowned youth advocacy and policy-oriented organization for Africa, that works with young people as changemakers and advocates toward positive and sustainable change in their community. The organization has been working on 3 thematic areas namely: Governance and Accountability in Youth Development; Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights; Education and Girl Child Literacy, and recently, a fourth area, Youth Empowerment, which is currently at its inception stage. 

At the start of the project, the organization proffered these solutions: 

1. Ensuring that the democratic demands of the EndSARS movement are sustained

2. Mobilizing actions that will track human rights violations and police brutality in Nigeria

3. Engaging the youths in a more efficient and organized way in demanding change and a better government.

4. Creating a reliable means to ensure that reporting of human rights violations is achieved

In the course of implementing the project, the organization has made great strides toward achieving the proposed solutions. In October 2021, the organization created a toll-free line (08005005555) to encourage reporting of police brutality by young people.

As a result of this toll-free line, a case of police brutality from the scene of the EndSARS was reported by a victim, a case which has currently been taken further by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). They have also been able to get the commitment and participation of key stakeholders in the four focal States - the NHRC, the Ministry of Justice, and the Nigerian Police Force, 

Town hall meetings

The organization has held town hall meetings in Bauchi, FCT, and Oyo, and the meetings have enjoyed a good presence of a wide variety of stakeholders. Different segments of people in the society participate in these meetings for example representatives from the tailors association, association of vulcanizers, market women, etc. The meetings have also led to the creation of a WhatsApp group, which includes the police and the youths and this enhanced communication between stakeholders has led to timely reporting of police brutality and has elicited faster responses. 

The ultimate goal is for young people to see the EndSARS protest as a worthwhile activity and to see that any progress made, will be sustained.