ABSTRACT
The #EndSARS protests swept through Nigeria in October 2020 providing opportunities for Nigerian youths to demonstrate against police violence, poor governance and daunting socio-economic challenges plaguing their country. Drawing on the protesters’ collective sentiments on Twitter, this article interrogates youth agency, ethics of force in policing and collective action of #EndSARS protest actors against predatory policing. It examines the deployment of digital affordances in protest movements and discusses how #EndSARS protesters initiated frames of collective action, agency and injustice to identify problems, ventilate their grievances, attribute blame, mobilise themselves and articulate solutions. Using the cultural theory of social movements, it argues that the protesters enacted frames through discursive strategies to express ideological views and achieve specific purposes. The article further employs Ruth Wodak’s discursive paradigms to investigate the dynamics of in-group and out-group categorisations in #EndSARS protest movement. The discursive mechanisms are also employed to study the creation of stereotypes, legitimisation of protest acts and mobilisation of aggrieved Nigerians against police brutality.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all my anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. My sincere appreciation goes to Dr Paul Onanuga of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti and Dr Stephen Temitope David of Stellenbosch University for editing the initial draft of this article.
Notes
1 Ike Agụata, Twitter post, October 2020, 4.21 pm, https://twitter.com/Ike_Obiora/status/1317485895126274053?s=20&t=f_YcTzcyQnNhyVVwj43vhQ
2 Omorilewa, Twitter post, October 2020, 7.00 am, https://twitter.com/StillSpencer/status/1317344681064366080?s=20&t=tIwct9ExurE2lAErRZEOGg
3 Oladotun, Twitter post, October 2020, 8.08 pm, https://twitter.com/Oladrizzzy/status/1314643886590099456?s=20&t=1xXG7RCOJD7n9_HpHlEw7A
4 Specialè Kitty, Twitter post, October 2020, 12.54 pm, https://twitter.com/kitty_keys/status/1317433832568705024?s=20&t=4EPhR2i5Q9ctW6GZfyOalw
5 Jul, Twitter post, October 2020, 6.33 pm, https://twitter.com/seunworshipHIM/status/1318606216323600384?s=20&t=gsTMTMZJlGg8ZiBtJZPedQ
6 Umenyilorah Uzodinma Chukwukelue, Twitter post, October 2020, 2.24 pm, https://twitter.com/Chukwukelue/status/1317456538089541636?s=20&t=gsTMTMZJlGg8ZiBtJZPedQ
7 Mohnice, Twitter post, October 2020, 7.21 pm, https://twitter.com/Mohnice_/status/1318980816609906688?s=20&t=gsTMTMZJlGg8ZiBtJZPedQ
8 Audu Maikori, Twitter post, October 2020, 11.41 pm, https://twitter.com/Audu/status/1317959071622901763?s=20&t=HwjaMm_m6AS5XA7p2kibDQ
9 Oduduwa, Twitter post, October 2020, 7.55 pm, https://twitter.com/BossMajor_B/status/1318626911350886402?s=20&t=gsTMTMZJlGg8ZiBtJZPedQ
10 Tola, Twitter post, October 2020, 10.11 pm, https://twitter.com/adetolaov/status/1319386033449017344?s=20&t=ptwwyqOn68PVng1KH_Z5bQ
11 H, Twitter post, October 2020, 9.15 pm, https://twitter.com/perfectioncraze/status/1318647096736624651?s=07
12 Mr Decent, Twitter post, October 2020, 10.36 pm, https://twitter.com/DecencyZubby/status/1319392332672847872?s=20&t=AiE2OCSb6peVo4LSQ7m5tQ
13 Madam K, Twitter post, October 2020, 2.36 pm, https://twitter.com/heraxhera_/status/1317821967785930758?s=20&t=AiE2OCSb6peVo4LSQ7m5tQ
14 Samuel, Twitter post, October 2020, 12.03 am, https://twitter.com/samuel22313432/status/1317964578869989381?s=07
15 Oluchi, Twitter post, October 2020, 5.52 pm, https://twitter.com/anugomjoy/status/1317871059618521089?s=20&t=AiE2OCSb6peVo4LSQ7m5tQ
16 Ba’ Shaba, Twitter post, October 2020, 10.46 pm, https://twitter.com/gimbakakanda/status/1315045989313585159?s=20&t=5ZtTA-OsNZntvvH3WPH7vg
17 Ebele, Twitter post, October 2020, 8.09 pm, https://twitter.com/ebelee_/status/1318630321173237761?s=20&t=kqomwnoGsF3Lv8c0fUyW8Q
18 O.O. Agbede, Twitter post, October 2020, 10.49 am, https://twitter.com/agbedeoore_/status/1318127130044174336?s=20&t=gsTMTMZJlGg8ZiBtJZPedQ