ENDSARS to ENDEFCC: On the Authority and Audacity of Crimes in Nigeria

There is no country where there is no crime that threatens human survival or the advancement of organizations. Different countries have different crime patterns and trajectory. Using a variety of indicators, various independent research think tanks and news media have documented the global crime rate. According to current World Population Review data, 64 out of every 100,000 Nigerians commit a crime.

Because security issues and crimes cannot be addressed without strong security institutions, the Nigerian government has always considered the establishment of specialized departments or units within the Nigeria Police Force, Army, and other organizations tasked with ensuring a secure environment. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which was created in 1992 to deal with crimes associated with robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and firearms, was the product of the notion of building a virile security institution. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was equally established to address corruption and other related financial crimes using prevention, enforcement and coordination approaches.

Clearly, these agencies are expected to assist the government in carrying out certain responsibilities at the local level, such as regulating social and economic behaviors of individuals and organizations that are harmful to individual and collective growth. Prior to the establishment of these agencies, our analyst observes that people desired a better environment in which social and economic activities could be carried out without fear of being attacked or defrauded. Creating and maintaining the agencies, however, appear to be dominance tools for rigidly controlling people and exploiting people unnecessarily, according to some sections of society.

This submission has been well expressed in the last three years by youths who believe that the staff of the agencies are looking out for them despite the poor economic conditions. This submission resulted in the first national SARS protest in October 2020, with severe consequences across the country. Officers of the law were killed. Security posts and stations were set on fire. Property was looted. Following the same month pattern, news outlets recently reported protests against the EFCC. Some youths from Warri to Ibadan want the agency, like SARS, to be abolished. Like the ENDSARS protests, public interest in ENDEFCC is gradually increasing on the Internet.

In Warri and Ibadan

Some of the protesters were interviewed by news organizations in both cities. As previously stated, the majority of protesters believed that the EFCC is abusing its constitutional and executive-driven motive power, as well as its authority over them. Though some protesters have been arrested, their actions are similar to those of anarchists or anti-authoritarians that Friedrich Engels criticized in his work “On the Authority.” It is clear from the protests that the protesting youths, like the anarchists, want their authority to triumph over the authority of the state and others. Setting born fires on roads, for example, and causing traffic gridlock that prevents others from going about their daily lives are examples of great destruction that Engels warned social revolutionists about.

If the youths eventually succeed in shutting down the agency through protests, our analyst predicts that the number of identified crimes controlled by the agency through prevention, enforcement, and coordination approaches will skyrocket. And everyone should be prepared to bear some of the consequences. Instead of calling for the agency’s abolition, youths who believe the agency’s staff wrongfully arrested and prosecuted them should present concrete evidence. This is necessary because no country can function without specific agencies, units, and departments to combat serious crimes such as internet fraud. Our analyst observes that unnecessary perceived rigid control and exploitation of the agency’s staff can only be questioned, rather than rejecting their expertise, efficiency, and constitutionally mandated authority.