One of the best things possible is happening for protesters against police brutality and state-sanctioned violence in Nigeria and that is, their clamors have been noticed and are being amplified by some of the most popular African-American entertainers.
Many actors and musicians in Nigeria, the most popular on the African continent, have already lent their support to the cause to disband the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the federal police service. The group has officially been disbanded but the police service is looking redeploy all former SARS officers into other branches of the service.
Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced earlier this week that the government will set up a Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team to replace SARS. But #EndSWAT is already trending on social media platforms even before the group comes into being.
On the streets of Lagos, Abuja and in other vibrant cities, the marches are ongoing. According to Amnesty International, at least 10 lives have already been lost largely due to the force with which the police have met protesters.
Still, seeing that they have found sympathizers among some of the most influential people will only invigorate the youthful protesters. In the simplest way, the famous people the protesters watch on TV every time are saying, “We see you, We hear you. We care”.
As follows are five of the biggest supporters of Nigerian protesters.
