IN one week, Feminist Coalition, a pro #EndSARS women group has raised over N62 million through donations by Nigerian youths to support the on-going #EndSARS protests across the country. 

The group of feminists formed in July 2020 has been at the forefront of raising funds for victims of the #EndSARS protests, providing legal and medical aid, refreshments, and supplies for protestors who have taken to the streets to demand an end to police brutality.

As a form of accountability, the group has also published detailed progress reports of disbursements of funds on a daily basis, promoting transparency and gaining the trust of Nigerian youths who have come to rely on the donations to organise and sustain the protests.

As of October 15, the group disclosed that it had raised a total of N62,643,663.05 and has provided funds for the set up of 100 peaceful protests in 25 states across the country.

It also disclosed that it has paid N759,080 in medical bills for injured protestors, donated N400,000 to the families of victims murdered by police officers while protesting peacefully.

The group has also paid N500,000 in legal aid and spent N11,367,500 on supplies including food, water, mask among other requirements for the protestors.

As part of its mission, the group said it is fighting injustice through peaceful protests, fundraising, and social media organisation.

While the group is ensuring an effective funds management system, it has faced some bottleneck.

On Tuesday, the Feminist Coalition via its Twitter page announced that its account had come under attack, disclosing that the bank account linked to the donation fund had been deactivated and the donation link severed.

“For demanding an end to police brutality we are now under attack! Our bank account has been deactivated and so has the Flutterwave donation link. Our members’ lives are also being threatened! #SARSMustEnd,” the tweet read. 

Flutterwave, a payment technology company provided a platform to gather donations for the #EndSARS protesters across the country.

However, The ICIR earlier reported that Tunde Lemo, a former deputy governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Chairman of Flutterwave said he ordered the suspension of the fintech firm’s payment platform, to prevent illicit financial flow.

The restriction has since been lifted.

Japheth Omojuwa, a Nigerian youth and Chevening scholar in a tweet, stated that the donation link would be reset, noting that the government was not attacking Flutterwave.

“I have now been informed that the government isn’t shutting Flutterwave down. So we are clear on that. No one is shutting Flutterwave down. They will reset the donation link and get things going again. We are good,” he tweeted.