Leaving Nigeria After #EndSARS

I knew policemen as neighbours, as fathers of schoolmates, as bullies, as murderers. Even though the protest was my first, it was nothing new. They were killing and harassing young boys; we needed to speak. Everything was the same until DJ Switch went live on Instagram that night.

I used to believe that good was rewarded by the universe with good. Most people do. It’s why Theodore Parker’s quote, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’ is so popular.

On 7 October 1967, the leaders of Asaba town attempted a show of support for ‘One Nigeria’. The Biafran War was breathing down their necks, so they made a last-ditch attempt to show they were on the likely winner’s side. In Ogbe Osowa, they dressed up in ceremonial white clothing and lined the roads singing ‘One Nigeria’ songs. It did not work. The men and boys were separated, gathered in the square and shot. Some bodies were retrieved and buried; hundreds of bodies were never found. The people of Ezenei, Ugbomanta, Ajaji and Umuonaje, the kindreds most affected, cannot answer this question accurately: Where are the rest of the bodies?

This story features in our special issue commemorating the fifth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests. Subscribe to The Republic to read the stories that keep #EndSARS alive.