  Using the @NGRPresident Twitter handle, the Government of Nigeria issued a
special directive banning Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) with immediate
effect. The SARS is a special police unit under the Nigeria Police Force tasked
with the responsibility of fighting violent crimes. However, the unit has been
accused of waves of human rights abuse across the nation. According to a report
by Amnesty International, between January 2017 and May 2020, 82 cases of police
brutality have been committed. This has led to one of the major protests
demanding more measures to be taken. The #EndSARS hashtag was widely used by
the protesters to amplify their messages and reach out to wider communities on
Twitter. In this study, we present a critical analysis of how the online
protest unfolded. Essentially, we examine how the protest evolves on Twitter,
the nature of engagement with the protest themes, the factors influencing the
protest and public perceptions about the online movement. We found that the
mobilisation strategies include direct and indirect engagements with
influential users, sharing direct stories and vicarious experiences. Also,
there is evidence that suggests the deployment of automated accounts to promote
the course of the protest. In terms of participation, over 70% of the protest
is confined within a few states in Nigeria, and the diaspora communities also
lent their voices to the movement. The most active users are not those with
high followership, and the majority of the protesters utilised mobile devices,
accounting for 88% to mobilise and report on the protest. We also examined how
social media users interact with the movement and the response from the wider
online communities. Needless to say, the themes in the online discourse are
mostly about #EndSARS and vicarious experiences with the police, however, there
are topics around police reform and demand for regime change.
