The Feminist Coalition that has been coordinating cash inflows for #EndSARS
protests has said that a total of N147.8 million was received globally
within 14 days of the campaign against Police brutality in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement issued and signed by 14 of its
members including F.K. Abudu and Damilola Odufuwa among others on
Thursday, October 22.
The feminist group said, out of the funds received for the
demonstration globally, a total of N60.4 million has been disbursed as
of Thursday, October 22 while the remaining N87.4 million “will go
towards funding medical emergencies, legal aids for wrongfully detained
citizens and relief for victims of police brutality and families of the
deceased.”
The statement reads in part: “We stand in solidarity with every
Nigerian who has raised their voice to demand for urgent police reform,
the end of police brutality, bad governance in Nigeria, and the
disbandment of the notorious SARS unit.
“Here is a summary of the total funds we received and disbursed (in
Naira) as of October 22nd, 2020: total received equals N147,855,788.28
(includes donations in dollars, Euros, Bitcoin and other currencies),
total disbursed equals N60,403,235.00 and the total funds left equals
N87,452,553.28.”
It said out of the remaining funds, the sum of N20,114,087.25 will be
channelled for #EndSARSresponse (Medical), N15,741,459.59 for legal aid
network; 40,228,174.51 naira will be as relief funds for victims of
police brutality and families of the deceased, N5,247,153.197 for
memorial for the fallen heroes while the remaining N6,121,678.73 will be
for #EndSARSMentalHealthSupport.
In view of the violence that later enveloped the protests, leading to
the killing of many people and destruction of both public and private
properties, the group said it had decided to stop all the cash inflows
for the protest, just as it called on Nigerian youths to observe the
mandated curfews in their respected states for the sake of peace.
“The past two weeks have been tough for many Nigerians, most
especially the last two days. Many lives have been lost and properties
destroyed at the height of what started as peaceful marches for the end
to police brutality. We wish to emphasize that we will no longer be
accepting donations for #EndSARS going forward,” the statement added.