Right to Peaceful Protest in Nigeria and the Recurrent Syndrome of Brutalization: The #EndSARS Protest Debacle

Abstract Protests play a significant role in the political, economic, social and cultural life of our societies. Protests have repeatedly motivated positive social change. Through protesting, individuals and groups express disagreement, opinions and objections to government actions or inactions. Protests bring attention to errors in governance and demand their rectification. The right to peaceful protest is protected under the international and African regional human rights frameworks, including the Nigerian Constitution. In Nigeria, the Public Order Act is designed to support the appropriate and peaceful conduct of peaceful assemblies (protests), meetings and processions. Yet the Nigerian government does not respect the right to peaceful protest, particularly in the case of protests against the government. This can be seen in recent protests against Nigeria's notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad. This article examines the context of the application of the right to peaceful protest in Nigeria in view of the recent #EndSARS protests.