At least 18 protesters commemorating the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests were reportedly arrested by officers of the Nigeria Police at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on Sunday.
The #EndSARS protests, which swept across the nation from October 1 to 20, 2020, were organized in response to widespread police brutality.
The incident at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, remains one of the most controversial, with allegations of fatalities when security forces reportedly opened fire on peaceful protesters.
As part of the commemoration, youths gathered at the toll gate to honor the victims, but were met with a heavy police presence. According to eyewitnesses, the protesters were tear-gassed and later arrested.
Juwon Sanyaolu, National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, and Omole Ibukun, Initiator of the Creative Change Centre, both confirmed the arrests through separate distress messages.
Among those detained was Hassan Soweto, the National Spokesperson for the Youth Rights Campaign.
“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,” read a message shared by Sanyaolu. “We demand their immediate and unconditional release. Peaceful protest is a fundamental right.”
Others arrested included Remilekun Orunsolu, Olamide Thomas, Michael Adedeji, Adeseye Eshe, and Olamilekan Sanusi.
Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, also confirmed the arrests in a tweet, stating that the protesters were “beaten and tortured” before being taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Yaba.
“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. They’ve now been moved to the notorious SCIID station at Panti,” Sowore tweeted.
A video circulating on social media showed some of the protesters singing solidarity songs as they were transported in a moving vehicle.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, is yet to react to the development asl at the time of filing this report.
