Holding the Line Against Torture: A Legal Win from the #EndSARS Frontlines

Share

By Peace Amito

Programme Manager Consultant

In 2024, the Citizens’ Gavel Foundation for Social Justice, a Nigerian legal advocacy NGO, secured the release of Taiwo Dosunmu, a videographer arbitrarily detained and subjected to ill-treatment for four years following the #EndSARS protests. Although Taiwo was not a protester, he was wrongfully imprisoned without trial, and held in conditions that amounted to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, and denied access to legal redress.   

 A small grant from REDRESS, made possible through EU funding under the United Against Torture initiative, supported Gavel to provide legal representation, challenge systemic failings, and win Taiwo’s freedom, restoring hope not only for him, but for many others languishing in similar conditions. This case demonstrates how targeted, timely donor support can break cycles of abuse, strengthen civil society’s voices, and hold governments accountable for torture and unlawful detention. 

Crackdown on the #EndSARS movement 

In October 2020, thousands of Nigerians took to the streets in a nationwide protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a controversial police unit notorious for torture, extortion, and extrajudicial killings. The #EndSARS movement called for an end to systemic police brutality and triggered a harsh crackdown by state authorities. In the aftermath, hundreds of individuals were arrested and detained, many without charge, legal representation, or trial.  

Taiwo Dosunmu was one of them. He had gone to a police station to clarify that he was not involved in the protests.  Instead, he was arrested and remanded without trial at Kirikiri Correctional Facility, where he endured prolonged unlawful detention under conditions that amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. Locked in an overcrowded cell, with inadequate food, sanitation, and medical care, Taiwo was cut off from the outside world. For nearly four years, he suffered severe physical and psychological hardship. These conditions, combined with his total lack of access to legal representation, may constitute torture, particularly given the intentional infliction of suffering.  

 His case file was missing and charges were duplicative and inconsistent. State authorities failed to provide any lawful justification for his continued detention in blatant violation of both national and international legal obligations.  

When Citizens’ Gavel took up the case in January 2024, they were met with silence and obstruction from court officials to the Director of Public Prosecutions. But Gavel quickly deployed a strategic litigation plan focused on enforcing Taiwo’s fundamental rights and dismantling procedural irregularities; 

  • They documented and challenged the inhuman and degrading treatment Taiwo faced in detention, conditions which included prolonged isolation, overcrowding, and denial of medical care.  
  • They reinforced Nigeria’s obligations under Nigeria’s Anti-Torture Act (2017) and international human rights law by demonstrating that such prolonged and intentionally harmful conditions may amount to torture especially when compounded by procedural abandonment ad lack of legal recourse. 
  • They secured Dosunmu’s release after four years of unlawful detention by filing a successful motion to dismiss due to lack of diligent prosecution.  
  • They challenged duplicative charges and procedural violations through targeted court filings and continuous monitoring.  
  • They exposed justice sector gaps particularly around case file mismanagement, prosecutorial delays, and denial of legal safeguards.  

A legal win against systemic impunity 

This case is not just a legal win, it is proof that even modest, well-placed support can protect lives, restore dignity, and drive legal reform. Gavel’s work underlines the urgent need for sustained investment in frontline organisations confronting torture, arbitrary detention, and systemic impunity in Nigeria and beyond.  

 With continued donor backing, local partners like Gavel can replicate these efforts, build a stronger body of strategic litigation, and push for broader criminal justice reform. The Taiwo Dosunmu case is one of many, but it shows that when civil society is resourced, justice is not just possible. It is inevitable.

Photo by: Kaizenify CC 4.0