The #EndSARS protests in Nigeria continue to gain momentum, growing stronger by the day despite the Inspector-General of Police (IGP)'s announcement of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) dissolution. The persistence of these agitations, coupled with the government's failed attempts to quell them, has led to widespread speculation that authorities might resort to an internet shutdown as a final measure.

The protests, which commenced a week prior, were initially ignited by a viral video depicting a fatal police shooting of a Nigerian man. This incident sparked outrage and a fervent public outcry on Twitter for the complete disbandment of the controversial police unit. Within the first three days, #EndSARS became the number one trending topic globally on Twitter, accumulating nearly 5 million tweets and over 100 million engagements. This digital momentum quickly translated into real-world action, with thousands of Nigerians, including celebrities, politicians, and activists, taking to the streets to demand an end to police brutality and the rogue SARS unit, utilizing hashtags such as #EndSars, #WarOnSars, and #SARSMUSTEND.

Although the IGP declared the dissolution of SARS and introduced a new unit called SWAT, protesters remain unsatisfied. This dissatisfaction is fueled by a history of previous announcements regarding SARS's disbandment, only for the unit to reappear. Furthermore, the supposed dissolution was marred by reports of police violence against protesters, leading to additional fatalities. Amnesty International reported approximately 10 deaths since the protests began, despite the largely peaceful nature of the demonstrations.

With the protests showing no signs of abating, concerns are escalating that the government's next strategy could involve curbing social media, which has served as the movement's primary fuel, by implementing an internet shutdown. While Nigeria has not historically employed such tactics, several other African nations, including Chad, South Sudan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Somalia, have utilized internet censorship to suppress protests between 2016 and 2018.

Adegoke Adeboye, Media and Program Manager at Paradigm Initiative, acknowledged that an internet shutdown by the Nigerian government is not "impossible," expressing hope that it would not come to that. He noted, "We all know the role that the Internet is playing in the protest and we can already imagine that someone has proposed this to the government." However, tech enthusiast Victor Asemota cautioned against such a move, asserting that it would likely backfire, sparking even stronger and renewed protests by reminding Nigerians of other grievances. "If they make the mistake of shutting down the Internet, many others will remember those other reasons and start new protests," Asemota stated, drawing parallels to a similar strategy that failed in Togo. A Nigerian youth named Semira echoed this sentiment, suggesting that if the internet were shut down, the streets would become insufficient to contain the amplified protests as all online Nigerian youths would join the physical demonstrations.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence regarding a government-planned shutdown, several methods exist for individuals to bypass potential internet restrictions. These include the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which allow users to establish a connection with servers in different countries, thereby circumventing local internet censorship. Popular VPN applications like OpenVPN and ProtonVPN can be used in conjunction with profiles downloaded from sites like vpngate.com.

Offline messaging options on platforms like Twitter and Facebook also offer connectivity even without network access, typically by sending text messages. Users can set up SMS Tweet notifications in their Twitter settings. Additionally, off-grid applications leverage mesh networks via Bluetooth, enabling users to text, share videos, and images within a range of 100-200 meters. Examples of such apps include Firechat, The Serval Mesh, Vojer, Bridgefy, Signal Offline Messenger, Briar, and ZombieChat.

Finally, Dark Web browsers like TOR and CyberGhost can mask users' IP addresses, allowing them to bypass internet bans. By downloading and installing these browsers, users can maintain access. These four methods provide viable ways to stay connected should an internet shutdown occur.