#EndSARS human rights defender exiled after police brutality protests takes up fight against disinformation

Human Rights defender Raphael Adebayo speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway 05-June-2024 (Photo: Andres MacLean)

By Naledi Sikhakhane

12 Jun 2024

Raphael Adebayo left Nigeria under an alias after he was targeted for being one of the coordinators of the #EndSARS and #ReformPoliceNG movement now, he is tackling disinformation with a new voter education drive.

In 2020, tens of thousands of young Nigerians took part in protests calling for the violent police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to be shut down. At least 56 protesters were killed and more than 15 remain in jail, said Amnesty International in October 2023.

Raphael Adebayo left Nigeria under an alias after he was targeted for being one of the coordinators of the #EndSARS and #ReformPoliceNG movement.

Adebayo spoke to Daily Maverick while attending the 16th annual Oslo Freedom Forum about where the movement is now and his voter education platform, KnowDemWell. The platform aims to foster voter education by profiling political parties and government officials of all ranks.

Adebayo said that although police brutality persists and protesters retreated after the devastating killings, young Nigerians are persistent and hopeful for a better future for the nation.

“A lot of people retreated into their cocoons, which is a natural reaction to the brutal clampdown by the Nigerian government, but the movement lives on in people’s minds and hearts as a reminder that no matter how hard they come down on us we will never lose our voice,” Adebayo said of the #EndSARS movement.

He said young people have managed to rise out of the devastation of the massacre and identify their political power.

“Today we can look back and say there is hope that not all has been lost. What the Nigerian youth stands for is completely not in tandem with the crooked ways of what the old guard and the Nigerian political elite stands for,” he said.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Nigeria’s 2023 elections fail to deliver the promised hope – it’s a tale of déjà vu

“So we saw how that came to a head in the last election where the political elite used all sorts of tactics to deter people from participating in the elections and registering to vote.”

Nigerian rights defender Raphael Adebayo Nigerian human rights defender Raphael Adebayo, a fellow with the Human Rights Foundation, spoke about his work at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway. (Photo: Andres MacLean)

Reviving hope

Adebayo is one of six fellows in a one-year programme run by the Human Rights Foundation in partnership with Canvas. It allows human rights advocates, social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders from authoritarian regimes to increase the impact of their work.

Through mentorship and hands-on seminars, fellows develop critical skills and join a growing community of human rights activists.

Adebayo reflected on his journey at the 16th annual Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway last Wednesday. He showed a video of himself distressed but determined while he was making a video exposing the brutality protesters faced in the thick of the 2020 demonstrations.

During the protests, Adebayo documented attacks by hired thugs and the use of excessive force by security agencies. He also exposed the government officials who recruited those thugs to brutally attack peaceful protesters.

His involvement in the protests resulted in serious threats against him, forcing him into exile, where he has continued his activism.

Adebayo ended his talk with a call to action – for help in highlighting the efforts to uphold democracy in Nigeria.

“It is now an important task for us to deepen Nigeria’s democracy and revive whatever hope we can. We want to create more citizen action and a stronger base of resistance against the political manipulation, violence and disenfranchisement we saw in the last election,” he said.

Nigerian rights defender Raphael Adebayo Raphael Adebayo speaks at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway, on 5 June 2024. (Photo: Andres MacLean)

Combating disinformation

Disinformation was a huge challenge in last year’s elections in Nigeria. The BBC found that several websites established around the time of Nigeria’s general elections in February 2023 were reaching thousands of people while spreading false news.

“The point of KnowDemWell is to have more Nigerians vote based on factual, non-partisan and accurate information. The hub will serve as a go-to resource for informed assessment of political candidates for all elective positions across all tiers of government,” Adebayo said.

Nigeria’s 2023 elections also had the lowest voter turnout since the end of military rule in 1999, along with other concerns around rigging, voter intimidation and other issues.

Although the KnowDemWell platform is already online, Adebayo said it will officially launch in six months. This gives the team time to ensure the website is protected from cyberattacks.

Adebayo said some of the information that will feature on the platform is already public knowledge, such as manifestos, profiles, promises made and whether they have been fulfilled, but the website will collate and make it digestible for the voter. It will also provide fact-checks from researchers.

The other crucial part of KnowDemWell will be physical voter education activations in local languages within communities to share these political profiles and remind people about the significance of exercising their democratic right to vote.

Read more in Daily Maverick: After the election noise and madness, Nigerian democracy still stands

“We want to have a treasure trove of reliable information voters can rely on, we want people to look beyond charisma and competence but also look at the values they stand for, what are the human values and policies they stand for, do they lean towards democracy or dictatorship.”

Adebayo said there will be seven indicators that rank government officials and their election campaigns, including democracy, human rights and gender equality.

Adebayo said parliamentarians should not get away with advocating for anti-democratic ideals, such as imposing the death penalty for those who exercise free speech, without accounting for them.

“We are hoping to catalyse more citizen participation. By having people know more [so] they might be more prone to act and make political decisions based on sound knowledge, we believe this platform can help make a change,” he said. DM

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Reviving hope

Combating disinformation