Nigerian comedian Seyi Law is thrilled that the bond between Ghana and Nigeria has manifested in significant support for protests against police brutality in Africa’s most populous nation.
Thousands of Nigerians, mostly youth, have spent the last week protesting against the widespread abuses of the country’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
SARS has been accused of illegal detentions, assaults, robberies and extrajudicial murders.
Many Ghanaians joined the hashtag #EndSars on Twitter, among others, to also voice their opposition to police brutality.
“I am very happy that we had people even beyond the shores of Nigeria joining the campaign and making this trend,” Seyi Law said on The Point of View.
Exchanges between Ghana and Nigeria are mostly light-hearted in nature, especially online, in the comedian’s experience.
So he was happy that Ghanaians remained supportive when banter was put aside and activism took centre stage.
“One of the things I love about the fact that it is trending in Ghana is they are putting their voice behind us… that is the show of brotherhood. For me that is something.”
“It means the bants that we have is something that is deeper than the laughs we get from it,” Seyi Law affirmed.
The protests prompted some action from Nigeria’s government.
In an address on Monday, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said SARS officers responsible for wrongful acts would be held accountable.
An independent panel is to be set up to investigate allegations of abuse against SARS and other police units.
He also assured that the SARS unit would be disbanded.
The government late unveiled a new Special Weapons and Tactics unit to replace SARS, prompting more outrage from protestors.
Protests against the SARS unit were sparked by a video of a man allegedly being killed by police.
