Abstract:
This work establishes that the primary justification for the state is its role as the guarantor
of last resort of the personal safety, liberty and property of the citizens. The essay upholds
that the state exists fundamentally for the protection of life and property and ensuring the
wellbeing of the citizens and unless it performs this basic function it has no reason to exist.
The essay equally establishes that no other time since the civil war era has Nigeria's state
been seriously engulfed in perennial security challenges than now. It is the stand of this
essay that the current trend of violence imprints on the psyche of Nigerians that the
government security apparatus is incapable of guaranteeing the security, safety and well
being of the people. It is the candid opinion of this essay that the paradox of Nigeria's state
security is that instead of the state being a framework of lawful order and the highest
source of authority, it now constitutes the greatest threat to itself. The essay submits that
peaceful protest is against the ruling elite that has exploited and appropriated the
collective patrimony to itself. It substantiates the legality of EndSARS Protest necessitated
by the improprieties of the unit of Nigeria Police Force – Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) against human rights violation, extortion, torture brutality and extra-judicial
killings by SARS due to sustained years of leadership deficit in Nigeria. The protest
though hijacked by hoodlums is a wake-up call for articulation of good leadership and
governance in Nigeria. The Essay adopts an expository and critical evaluation method to
drive home its aims and objectives. It relies on secondary sources of information such as
journal articles, National dailies and magazines.
