Odunayo Eweniyi and Damilola Odufuwa, Nigerian Allies to #EndSARS
Their Feminist Coalition raised almost $388,000 in two weeks to support protests against police brutality and corruption.
From left: Eweniyi and Odufuwa
Courtesy: Eweniyi, Odufuwa
Eweniyi and Odufuwa are friends who work in financial tech. After starting an organization in 2018 to bring women together to socialize, they formed the Feminist Coalition in July to champion equality in Nigeria. By October the 13-member group, which includes journalists, activists, lawyers, and creatives, had thrown its support behind a long-running call to disband a national police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, with a history of abuse. SARS was disbanded, but peaceful protests demanding reforms were met with government crackdowns that left more than 50 dead. As the protests gained steam, the coalition used social media to mobilize 600 lawyers to give legal aid to the hundreds arrested.