It was on Friday, 9 October 2020. I was taking a night stroll after sitting all day working remotely. My earpiece plugged in while listening intermittently to ‘Abule’, (Three, 2020) by Patoranking and ‘Friday Feeling’ (Apollo, 2020) by Fireboy. Suddenly, my immediate elder sister called me and asked my whereabouts. ‘Why are you asking?’ I responded. She didn’t answer but insisted that I answer her question. When she wouldn’t relent, I told her not to worry, I was already coming back home. ‘Okay o. Be careful. There is #EndSARS in town,’ she said and hung the call.
This sort of thing usually occurs whenever I am at home with my family. My mum always tries to dissuade me from taking night strolls. This is understandable because in Nigeria if you are not harassed or robbed by opportunistic area boys, you may be harassed by the police. Since I turned 15, I have heard stories of people who have been mistaken for criminals by the police all because they were probably at the right place at the wrong time, or because the police desperately needed a scapegoat for an unfortunate event. ‘May we not look like the wanted person,’ my mum often prayed….
To read more, check full article on The Republic.