I have been noticing people I know in Nigeria recently using the #EndSARS hashtag on Twitter for a little while now and I mistakenly assumed, given virus causing the pandemic known as COVID-19 is called SARS-CoV-2. It's not anything to do with COVID-19 at all, it is a purely human tragedy and it must be stopped.
Way back in 1992, the Nigerian Government created the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) but it has somehow got completely out of control, even to the extent that Amnesty International condemned their human rights abuses and tried to take them to court.
Now, SARS appears to be operating "above the law", especially targeting people who might appear to be affluent (having modern mobile phones, laptops, good clothes, good cars etc), even including kidnap, extortion, and violence.
The government has occasionally promised to "reform" the group, without actually achieving anything. It truly is time to disband the group completely.
Why do I care about this? Because it has affected people I know, directly. People in the general open source and tech world. These are people like you and I that are being threatened, robbed, etc etc.
We can't stand by. #EndSARS.
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