⁍ Nigerians protesting police brutality have hit the streets for more than a week.

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⁍ The hashtag #EndSARS trended on Twitter even after the police promised to dismantle the controversial unit.

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⁍ Police formed the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in 1992 to tackle violent crime.

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⁍ The unit developed a reputation for brutality, with Amnesty International accusing it of harassment, extortion, rape, extrajudicial killings and torture.

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– The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was formed in 1992 to crack down on car-jackings, armed robberies, and kidnapping, but it’s long been accused of human rights abuses, including extortion, rape, torture, and the targeting of young men with tattoos, dreadlocks, expensive cars, and phones, Reuters reports. Protesters have been taking to the streets of Nigeria for more than a week now to demand the unit’s dissolution, and the hashtag #EndSARS trended on Twitter even after the police promised to dismantle it on Oct. 11. Protesters say SWAT teams could simply become SARS under a new name, and now they carry #EndSwat signs. Police initially banned SARS from routine patrols and ordered them to wear uniforms. After continued protests, police disbanded SARS with immediate effect on Oct. 11. President Muhammadu Buhari pledged police reform, and a federal council ordered states to set up compensation funds for victims of police brutality. On Oct. 13, police announced that a new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team would ‘fill the gaps arising from the dissolution of the SARS’. Authorities in Abuja said protests were banned due to coronavirus concerns, and in Lagos, videos are circulating on Tiwtter of men armed with knives, clubs, and other weapons attacking demonstrators. Nigerians and observers say little changed. Protesters say SWAT teams could simply become SARS under a new name, and now they carry #EndSARS signs.