Years ago, when Awkuzu was in a state of unrest, the advent of SARS was warmly welcomed to fix the problem – until they eventually overstayed their welcome and became the same obnoxious problem they had come to fix Three years ago, Benjamin Udeh, an Awkuzu-based trader, enjoyed the habit of taking a walk to […]

Chibueze Okoli was just about starting life when police brutality plucked him from his loving, prayerful family The cover of darkness has passed away and dawn is at hand. The journey to Mr. Alexander Okoli’s home begins. The path to his home cuts through a local church. A narrow gate of gray shade stands on […]

Bonaventure Mokwe found himself in a precarious position; defending his illustrious family name in the midst of cruel intimidation from the James Nwafor-led Awkuzu SARS (Picture Credit: Vanguard News) On the first day of August 2013, in the second year of the reign of James Nwafor as the head of SARS in Awkuzu,  Bonaventure Mokwe […]

For over 15 years, James Nwafor’s name has sent shivers down the spine of many, due to his controversial affiliation with the SARS unit in Awkuzu. In 2012, James Nwafor became the head of The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in  Awkuzu. He had a notorious pedigree, which came to prominence in 2006. Around that time, […]

By: Banjo Damilola The earlier parts of this series showed how Kaka, the notorious political thug from the Lagos State slum of Ajegunle, attacked protestors in a manner that reflected his existing pattern of human rights abuse and violation. This final installment looks at the stories of three people who died as a result of […]

By: Banjo Damilola A Terror in a Town: #EndSARS protesters in the popular Lagos State slum of Ajegunle were murdered and maimed, it was only a reflection of an existing order of bullying through bullets, epitomized by a cruel character in the community. When this reporter first met James Yaya, he was bed-ridden. He had […]

From Piece to Pieces: Lekki Toll Gate became the epicentre of #EndSARS protest-related violence but it was not the only place in Lagos State that was characterized by chaos and casualties. This is an investigation into similar events in Ajegunle. By: Banjo Damilola On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, Happiness Abraka, 19, woke up to a […]

In the wake of his SARS experience, Christian Okeke is convinced that some members of the now-disbanded unit were “retired criminals.” One Sunday morning in May 2020, Christian Okeke strode to a spot at Urban Girls Secondary School, Ekwulobia, in the southeastern Nigerian state of Anambra.  He had parked his car there the night before.  […]

Wrongly targeted by police officers, Samuel Chukwu’s house was burnt to the ground, provoking pain that not only killed him but his wife too. Samuel Chukwu, 66, was on his bed in his town at Omunchala Omademe in the Ikwerre local government area of Rivers State. It was the morning of September 24, 2016. Suddenly, […]

Months after the tragic events of Lekki Toll Gate, protesters against the facility´s reopening recount the SARS-like treatment suffered at the hands of policemen.  After finishing his night shift as a security guard in Lekki Phase One, Kayode Adekambi headed home. It was the morning of Feb. 13, 2021. He was going to rest for […]

Accused of breaking and entering, up-and-coming musician Temitope Adeyemi received “the beating of my life” at the hands of SARS officers, and is now left with ruptured ear drums and shattered dreams. “Someone pointed at me,” recalls Temitope Adeyemi, “and in a flash, some people grabbed me, calling me a thief.” Twenty-nine year-old Temitope, an […]

After publicly assaulting a 60-year-old man, an officer of the Nigerian Police Force is nowhere to be found, four years on For the last four years, Olajide Fowotade has been chasing justice in the wake of being brutalized by a police officer. The officer, who has since been identified as Sergeant Ayo Arogundade, assaulted Olajide, […]

Ndukwe Ekekwe was flying high until both his body and his life came crashing down – thanks to a push from SARS officials  Ndukwe Ekekwe was a burgeoning businessman. The 35-year-old dealt in phone accessories in a shop at the popular Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos. He was a wholesaler with a large client base […]

After completing school, Stephen Ohimai was welcomed into the real world by a bullet instead of a job, and has since gotten his leg amputated After celebrating the completion of his final exams at the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Stephen Ohimai Azekhame looked forward to a bright future. He had just rounded up as an HND […]

Policemen accused of assaulting a civilian have been given an interesting punishment – redeployment A group of officers who detained and tortured Lagos state resident Tunde Abass have been left off the hook by the Nigeria Police Force.  The officers involved have rather been redeployed to another station, the Force said in a statement. Abass […]

Finding himself on the wrong side of a power struggle in his village, young Nnabuike Nnaji paid the ultimate price when he was brutally gunned down by SARS officials.  Nnabuike Nnaji, who died a day after Valentine’s Day seven years ago, was a native of the Ibagwa in the southeastern town of Nike in Enugu […]

Falsely accused of being a thief, 30-year-old widower, Onyekachi Ohalete Ugwuiro, died mysteriously in police custody, leaving behind three orphans and a devastated mother. In November 2018, on one of the last few occasions Chile K.M.I Chile (photo above) saw Onyekachi Ugwuiro, he was packing scrap metals from the railway with some other young men. […]

An encounter with a drunk policeman brought 20-year-old Taiwo Ayomide’s life to an end. It’s the third day of August in 2020, and another Nigerian in his prime has been killed. His name? Taiwo Ayomide. Who killed him? A drunk policeman. Why? The police officer hit him with a gun on the head because after […]

When Mbam Eji’s village head faced persecution from a powerful man, Eji stood by his head and village folk – at the cost of his own life. Mbam Eji was killed in police custody at the Ebonyi State Police Command Headquarters on 6th August, 2020.  Obinna Mbam Eji is the first child of the deceased, […]

The police claimed Olaoluwa Bolarinwa, who was starved to death in custody, was a “hardened criminal”, but they had no evidence. Olu is a generic name among the Yoruba people. Olu can function as a prefix or suffix, but it is never a complete name for native speakers of the indigenous language. “But, when the […]

After getting into an altercation with the son of a policeman, 22-year-old Kelechi Ineke thought he had been shown mercy following an amicable resolution. But all was not well. On the 28th of March 2018, Namdi Ineke’s younger brother, Kelechi, came to visit him. It was around 7 a.m, and Nnamdi was busy sweeping his […]

Godspower Woko tried to run away when he ran into a commotion caused by SARS, but a bullet caught up to him. Godspower Woko was sleeping in his family house at Omoku, in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State, when his phone rang. He answered. It was his uncle, Amaechi Olowu, requesting to […]

After seeing his friends protesting against SARS, Victor Igwe decided to join them, disappearing into their midst and from life. For several years, Victor Igwe always wanted to get into university, obtain a degree and have a successful life afterwards. But there was no money to make it happen. In Victor’s family, only his eldest […]

It’s been close to two years since a policeman who shot and killed young Chukwubuike Onuoha was last seen. Chukwubuike Onuoha was only 23-years-old when the police killed him. He had just finished writing his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, in preparation of getting into the university. Chukwubuike loved school, and always dreamt of going to […]

Chinonso Onyema, who made a promise to change the life of his single mother and siblings, was on the verge of making it happen when police edged him out of his life and dream Ukamaka Onyema used to have five children, but now, only four remain. And it’s all thanks to the police. Chinonso Onyema, […]

A wife and mother of two recounts how her husband was tortured to death at the hands of SARS for a crime he did not commit. It was at about nine in the evening of February 8, 2020. Three armed policemen knocked on a room’s door. They called out a name: Adebimpe Adebowale-Sobowale. “You are […]

When Timbee Avuve went out for a casual night with friends three years ago, he had no idea it would end with a bullet in his leg and a trip of no return to the infamous SARS facility “Abattoir.” Timbee Avuve’s nickname was Romeo. His friends called him that because he loved dancing. Like many […]

Kehinde Omotosho and his nephew were detained under ambiguous circumstances, and the former did not survive the gruesome conditions in detention. Kehinde Omotosho and his nephew, Jelili Rasaq, were locked in long, dark, and narrow cells on parallel blocks. By the left, was a broken down toilet with an offensive smell. Beyond that was another […]

Roseline Nwijie Oshim, a beloved wife and mother, was going about her normal life when she was suddenly crushed in a premeditated crash by a police van. On the day Roseline Nwije was killed, she had left home to buy donkey meat at Nkwo Jarki market, Ezzamgbo, in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi […]

In the heat of the #EndSARS protests, Ibiam Orji and Ikedichi Ekpe were shot right in front of their own home. On October 20, 2020, while the #EndSARS protests spread across Nigeria, Ikedichi Ekpe was returning from work and met his neighbour, Ibiam Orji, at the gate of their compound, off Okigwe Road in Aba. […]

Over 20 years after four young friends were murdered by police officers, justice is yet to prevail. Chibueze Idah was killed 17 days before his 25th birthday. His murderers? Police officers on duty at Amaechi Idodo village in the Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State. This happened almost 20 years ago. But to […]

Two friends were on their way home from work when they encountered a police incident that changed their lives. On the 10th of November 2017, Godwin Oke, 34, and Kingsley Obinna Nweke, 32, had just closed from work. They both worked at a lead and zinc mining site, located at Ezza-Ameka village in the Ezza […]

On a fateful Friday in April 2020, Friday Ifeanyi Arunsi was shot and killed by a drunk police officer, sending an entire town into mourning and chaos. It still does not make sense to many community members. Friday Arunsi was no troublemaker. So how did the police find him worthy of targeting? What did he […]

A week after his arrest, Chinwendu Ibekwe died under mysterious circumstances while in police custody, with his grieving family yet to know what exactly happened. On the 4th of March, 2017, the late Chinwendu Ibekwe was arrested by some policemen from Ubakala Division in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State. The arrest took […]

Young and big-hearted, Chibuisi Okameme, the hope of his family and the star of his workplace, was killed by police for being a good samaritan On April 5, 2020, during the COVID induced lockdown, one of the workers under Ndubuisi Nwabeke’s charge at the filling station, Greenmac Energy, at Ogbor Hill in Aba, Abia State […]

Provoked by a question, a SARS officer’s wrath took the life of an innocent man called James Joseph Okon who was on his way home from work. Around 2 pm on November 21, 2016, James Joseph Okon was on his way home from work. He had just completed his shift at Indorama Eleme Petrochemical Company, […]

Pelumi Onifade was only 20 years old when he was shot dead while performing his duty as a reporter. An intern at a private online broadcaster, Gboah TV, Pelumi Onifade was, at the time of death, a second-year history student at the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) in Ogun state. On October 24, 2020, […]

Footballer Kazeem ‘Kaka’ Tiamiyu was on the verge of a promising move to Sweden when he was pushed to his death on a road by police officers. For Abubakar Sanni, the death of his best friend, Kazeem Oluwaseun Tiamiyu, widely known by his nickname: Kaka, on February 22, 2020, was the second most traumatizing event […]

In December 2019, Owen Chikachukwu was arrested and taken into custody – and has not been seen since. Answers from law enforcement officials are not forthcoming, while the officer who led Owen’s arrest has advised his family to “forget about him.” When 27-year-old Owen Chikachukwu, who went missing two years ago and is feared dead, […]

Eight days after getting shot by police officers, Christian Ugwuja’s corpse was found in a valley, where it had been dumped. Christian Ugwuja was doing well in life. He had a business and a young family, both of which were blossoming. But all of that promise would be rudely interrupted in the midst of the […]

Teenager Monday Desmart was wrongly accused of armed robbery and allegedly murdered by the police, leaving his small family heavily affected. Around 5 a.m. on Friday, February 11, 2011, four members of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) from Police Command Headquarters, Abakaliki, Ebonyi stormed a house. The SARS officers startled the inhabitants with the way […]

Having been tortured in SARS custody for two months, Olumide died at home from physical and psychological trauma. For over 30 years, Mosunmola Labinjo served Nigeria as an administrative staff at the Ministry of Defence in Ibadan, Oyo state in her active years. After retirement in 2009, the single mother of four couldn’t afford to […]

It’s been six years since Jude Nnaji disappeared. For his family, including a six-year-old daughter he never met, moving on has been an impossible task. Jude Chinonso Nnaji, who was 26 when he went missing, was many things rolled into one. He finished his secondary school education at Union Secondary School, Ugbaike, in the Enugu-Ezike […]

Four years after being arrested, Joel Nnaemka Ugwuoke has not returned from the station – neither has he been seen. Joel Nnaemeka Ugwuoke, who was arrested at 21, was an aspiring musician and a Hip-hop fan. He also loved football and played the beautiful game with friends and neighbours. Joel worked at construction sites – […]

Until Jimoh Isiaq was killed by the police at a peaceful #ENDSARS demonstration, he had his whole life ahead of him, with a goal to change his family’s fortunes. Jimoh Isiaq, 21, who died three days after being shot by the members of the Nigeria Police Force on October 10 2020 was his family’s hope […]

A first-born son, Solomon Chinedu Obi was everything to his family. Now, thanks to the police, he’s no more. Esther Obi’s son, Solomon Chinedu Obi, was shot and killed during the #EndSARS protests on the 21st of October last year. Solomon was the first of four children. His mother, Esther who hails from Ezeagu in […]

Chukwuma Ihezie tried to help a client solve an issue, a move that marked the beginning of the end of his life. Chukwuma Ihezie, was killed by SARS officers on January 18, 2014. He graduated from the Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Enugu where he studied mechanical engineering. While he waited for his call-up letter […]

After law enforcement officers arrested Augustine Ugwu, they shot and killed him without a stated reason. Then they buried him behind their office. Of the five children his parents had, the late Augustine Ugwu had been the brightest. Augustine was 27 and in his final year at the university when the coronavirus pandemic brought the […]

Wrongly assumed to be an armed robber, Olusegun Adesanya Openiyi was brutally gunned down by a SARS operative 14 years ago. With pain that is yet to heal, his father and widow remember him. When Tolulope married her husband, it was the happiest moment of her life. She was excited to be on the journey […]

Just like his 81-year-old father Daodu, Solomon Yellowe loved singing in church. Solomon, the last of seven children, often went with his father to choir rehearsals at their Anglican church, stopping only when he got admission to study Religious and Cultural Studies at the University of Port Harcourt.

Dominic Onyeukwu managed to save his unborn son’s life during a riot. 20 years on, he could not prevent his son from being killed by SARS

On October 20, 2020, Olalekan Falaye joined thousands of young Nigerians to peacefully protest against police brutality. Instead, Falaye lost the ability to walk.

When a young video game repairer found himself on the radar of SARS, the drama that unfolded had all the intrigue of an action video game – except instead of the fun, it was all fear and frustration.

On one sunny day, SARS officers stormed a neighbourhood in Ajegunle, Lagos. They were on a mission to arrest a suspect. Somehow, Eric Okwaji, a resident in the neighbourhood got caught up in the operations. Seven years later, Eric is yet to be found.

A policeman, for no reason, opened fire on Godwin Udoh´s innocent family, changing their lives forever.

A lively, innocent teenager with big dreams was returning from church with his family when a stray bullet from a police officer changed his life.

The story of Emeka Kennedy, who spent months in SARS detention.