Actress and filmmaker Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has opened up about how the #EndSARS protests changed her approach to activism.
The actress said on Channels Television’s Rubbin’ Minds that she realised the dangers were not limited to herself after receiving death threats against her kids during the demonstrations. Speaking on Channels On Television’s Rubbin’ Minds, the actress revealed that death threats against her children during the protests made her realise the risks were no longer just about her.
She claims that the experience made her reevaluate her own and her kids’ safety, which caused her to switch from street demonstrations to more focused advocacy.
I’ve gotten death threats a lot, so I’m used to them.
However, I have never witnessed anything comparable to what transpired during EndSARS. It got so bad that my children began receiving death threats. I realised that this was about more than just me at that point, and it became real.
“I realised it was time to look beyond myself when people began visiting my house and place of employment in search of me. I had to protect others, especially my children,” she said.
Omotola claimed that her top priority is now safeguarding her children rather than her personal safety.
I have no control over their whereabouts. I am less able to keep them safe. “I care for them, but I don’t care for my life,” she remarked.
Beginning in October 2020, the #EndSARS movement called for an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad’s (SARS) abuses and police brutality.
