The aftermath of the END-SARS protest in Nigeria saw many youths incarcerated unjustly in various cells and correctional facilities across the country. Like many other movements and Mass actions, most persons moved on with their lives, leaving the Innocent youths picked up during the Protest for youthful Liberation to their ill fate.
The Centre for Social, Awareness, Advocacy, and Ethics (CSAAE) alongside its strategic partners, the Center for Health Education and vulnerable Support (CHEVS), VOICE, and The Youth Empowerment Solutions Project Initiative (YESP) spotting these issues moved to champion a campaign against police brutality and the utilization of a collaborative, non-confrontational partnership approach where the youths shall work together with the police to provide a safe society for all. The Project was called “SOROSOKE”.
SOROSOKE is a Nigerian slang that translates to “speak up.” The project translates to: “Speak up or Park-Well”; Park Well is a common street slang used by the Nigerian Police when confronting Nigerians. It is during this confrontation that most brutalities and violations of the human rights of youths happen. The consortium during the cause of the project moved swiftly to take actionable steps and to ensure project success and realization of the overarching project goal.
To steadfastness the situation, the Consortium Built a formidable network of 95 youth advocates (one from each of the 95 LGAs in the South-East) committed to monitoring and tracking the implementation and compliance of new police regulations in their communities. Youths were trained and equipped with skills and tools to monitor and report findings from the various LGAs in the South-East.
Barely a year down the line the project has turned out to be a massive success. SOROSOKE Youth advocates facilitate information on various forms of police brutality in their LGAs and forms of incompliance with the new policing regulations.
Furthermore, the C-Advocate, an Arm of the Centre for Social, Awareness, Advocacy, and Ethics, which comprises of Pro-Bono lawyers compounded by CSAAE, has facilitated the release of unjustly detained End-SARs Protesters and other innocent individuals, in various states within the South-Eastern states of which the Project covers. The most recent is the release of inmates from the Abia state correctional Facility (https://csaaeinc.org/justice-at-last-as-csaae-facilitates-the-release-of-35-inmates-including-10-endsars-detainees-in-the-southeast/).
Executive Director, CSAAE ( Rev.Fr.Dr. Godswill Agbagwa) Chief Operations Officer, CSAAE (Miss. Francisca Ekwonu), alongside WEARECOGNITO Reps
Executive Director, CSAAE ( Rev.Fr.Dr. Godswill Agbagwa), Alongside WEARECOGNITO Reps
To document the various successes the SOROSOKE project has attained, “WeareCognito”, an integrated communications company focused on development communication, knowledge management, and visual storytelling, paid the Centre for Social Awareness, Advocacy, and Ethics (CSAAE) a Visit. The Visit came with a series of interview sessions, to help the documentary. The Executive Director of CSAAE (Rev.fr.Dr. Godswill Agbagwa), some SOROSOKE Youth anchors, and The Head of the CSAAE Imo state Advocacy (Barr. Vivian Onylonoro) were interviewed. WeareCognito also visited the states the SOROSOKE project was undertaken to interact with SOROSOKE Youth anchors.
The lessons and outcome of the SOROSOKE project are one to set the template for coming projects. The Centre for Social, Awareness, Advocacy, and Ethics remains committed to its mandate of “A better Africa where all can find support and encouragement to work hard, live with dignity, and feel proud to belong”, and we would actively facilitate resources, programs, and Projects to achieve this primary commitment systematically.
Written by:
Osunkwo Kingsley Uzoma
Fellow, Centre for Social Awareness, Advocacy, and Ethics.
