Nigerian police fired tear gas at a memorial at Lagos’ Lekki tollgate Tuesday, disrupting a commemoration of the #EndSARS movement six years after protests over police brutality, TheCable reported from the scene.
Civic group Enough is Enough (EiE) organized the Oct. 20 gathering. TheCable reported that journalists and opposition politicians Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress and Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress were among those affected.
The 2020 protests called for action against police brutality. The Nigeria Police Force dissolved the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Oct. 11 that year, but commemorations have continued at the tollgate.
A Lagos State judicial panel found that soldiers fired on protesters at the site on Oct. 20, 2020. It recorded nine deaths and four people missing and presumed dead in connection with the incident. The federal government disputed the panel’s conclusions.
In 2024, the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States ruled that Nigeria violated protesters’ rights to security and assembly in a case brought by three applicants. It ordered compensation and a fresh investigation.
EiE said security agents harassed its then executive director, Opeyemi Adamolekun, while she laid flowers at the tollgate during the 2025 commemoration. Also on Oct. 20 this year, Nigeria’s Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre called for an audit of former SARS officers.
Lagos police spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi told Punch she was awaiting official feedback about the officers’ assignment at the memorial.
