Officers of the Lagos State Police Command used tear gas to disperse protesters on 20th October 2024, as they rallied to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, a movement that gained international attention in October 2020. Videos from the scene showed demonstrators fleeing as shots were fired into the air, and clouds of tear gas filled the area. The protesters, who had gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate around 8:30 am with banners and placards, called for the full implementation of the recommendations made by various judicial panels of inquiry set up in the aftermath of the 2020 protests.
Their placards with various inscriptions were seen demanding justice and accountability for the victims of police brutality and the implementation of reforms promised by the government.
More so, in other news, it was reported that no fewer than 18 protesters commemorating the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests have reportedly been arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Police
In a distress message sent by the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and the Initiator of the Creative Change Centre, Omole Ibukun, revealed that the National Spokesperson of the Youth Rights Campaign, Hassan Soweto, was among those arrested.
“Soweto and 17 other members of the #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos were arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate this morning by the police. They were there to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS killings. Where they have been taken to is not yet known. We demand their immediate and unconditional release. Peaceful protest is a fundamental right. Thank you,” the message read.
Other names listed by Sanyaolu include Remilekun Orunsolu, Olamide Thomas, Michael Adedeji, Adeseye Eshe, and Olamilekan Sanusi.
Meanwhile, according to a tweet by the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, the protesters were arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate and were beaten before being put into a Black Maria van.
Sowore noted that the security operatives moved the arrested persons to the State Criminal Investigation Department at Panti, in the Yaba area of Lagos.
The tweet, posted via his X handle, read: “The #PoliceNG has arrested over 18 peaceful protesters at #LekkiMassacreRemembrance at #LekkiTollGate. They subjected them to serious beating and torture while being temporarily detained in their Black Maria at the toll gate. Subsequently, they’ve moved them to the notorious SCIID station at Panti in the Yaba area of Lagos.”
Nigerian youths had in 2020 staged a nationwide protest with the hashtag #EndSARS against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, an allegedly notorious unit of the Nigeria Police with a long record of abuse on citizens.
On October 20th, 2020, the Nigerian military used live ammunition on the peaceful protesters who converged at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos, leading to the massacre of unarmed youths.
Following the tragic incident, Tollgate has become a symbolic site for EndSARS protests.