Peaceful Protest and Democracy in Nigeria: The #EndSARS Experience

Abstract

Since 2009, the Nigerian troops have been fighting the war against an insurgent group called Boko Haram in the northeast. Even though the use of force has technically reduced the power base of the jihadists, it is far from defeating them on the battlefield alone. This paper critically appraised the merits of ‘Operation Safe Corridor’ (OSC) which the Buhari-led administration launched in 2016 to receive voluntary defectors, de-radicalise and eventually re-insert them into the society. Based on secondary data, the paper adopted the content analysis method of inquiry in addressing the central question as to whether OSC responded to the popular demand for peace in the conflict zone or it was a way of buying in criminals with cheap amnesty. In the light of the theory of Restorative Justice, the study found that the success of OSC was undermined by the top-down and military-dominated approach to peace that not only alienated a lot of victims of violence but also kept liberated communities broken and insecure. To foster reparation and reconciliation between offenders and victims, the offer of forgiveness by the victims of Boko Haram must complement military efforts to rehabilitate ex-fighters with the involvement of community leaders while government and non-governmental organisations play the motivational role in the background.