#EndSARS Anniversary: Police Fire Tear Gas To Disperse Gathering At Lekki Toll Gate
The gathering was organised to honour those who lost their lives and remember the demonstrations against police brutality. The post #EndSARS Anniversary: Police Fire Tear Gas To Disperse Gathering At Lekki Toll Gate…
The EndSARS protests of October 2020 began as a youth-led movement against police brutality, specifically the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), before widening into broader demands for governance reforms. The Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos became the movement's most symbolic and contested site after reports emerged of shootings targeting protesters there on the night of 20 October 2020, an incident the Lagos State-led judicial panel later described in terms that conflicted with military and government accounts. Since then, the toll gate has drawn annual memorial gatherings, often met with a heavy security presence, as families, activists and survivors seek to keep attention on accountability for the events of that night.
This year's anniversary gathering, organised to lay wreaths and honour those who died or went missing during the protests, was again dispersed by police using tear gas, according to Channels TV and Premium Times. Both outlets note the memorial's intent — remembrance rather than renewed protest — with Premium Times detailing that organisers had scheduled the wreath-laying for 11 a.m. Neither report specifies the police justification for the dispersal, the number of attendees, or whether any arrests were made, leaving open questions about how authorities continue to handle commemorations of the event.