IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE RESEARCH (JPASWR )

E-ISSN 2504-3597
P-ISSN 2695-2440
VOL. 9 NO. 4 2024
DOI: 10.56201/jpaswr.v9.no4.2024.pg177.189

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Social Media and October 2020 Endsars Protest: Rethinking Police Reforms in Nigeria

Ekunke Paulinus Agabi, Eyo E. Akpandem, Etta, Peter Eban, Okoi Obuli Onun & Ibor Efoli Eta

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Abstract

It is true that the Nigeria police force is the main law enforcement agency and has its force deployment across the federation. The activities of some units of the Nigeria police such as the Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have been variously brought into test as a result of their brutality and extra-judicial killings which triggered the October, 2020 ENSARS protests in Nigeria, the reason that motivated this study. On the other hand, internet has developed into a significant medium of communication that has expanded into a macrocosm of the people's mouthpiece through constant informal, unofficial engagements of the government and its representatives by means of protest, of which October 2020 is not an exception. The main aim of this study is to examine the influence of social media on EndSARS protest: Rethinking police reforms in Nigeria. The study adopted Utazi Model propounded by Duruamaku-Dim in 2002 as its theoretical framework. The model emphasizes the inseparability and non-segregatory aspects of utazi green leaf which connotes sweetness and bitterness of utazi leaf. This study uses descriptive survey design, which is more focused on establishing the state of a phenomenon rather than identifying the single causative component. The statistical tool used in study was the regression statistics. Information was gathered and findings were discussed using secondary data. The study found that the October, 2020 violent protests were caused, among other things, by public mistrust of government, police violence and/or brutality and poor governance. Among other things, it was suggested that the Nigerian police force as a whole needs social re-engineering in order to make it become a functional force, hence the call for police reforms. The significance of this study is that it will better enhance public service efficiency in public governance across Sub-Saharan Africa.

keywords:

Social Media, October 2020 EndSARS, Protest, Rethinking, Police Reforms, Nigeria

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