20th October 2024
The Lagos State Police Command on Sunday morning fired teargas to disperse protesters who gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protest at lekki toll gate.
The protesters who converged around 8:30 am at the toll gate with various banners and placards with different inscriptions, calling for the full implementation of the reports by various judicial panels of inquiry set up after the 2020 protests.
It would be recalled that in October 2020, thousands of youths gathered in major cities across the country to protest against the constant harassment, killings, and extortion by officers of a special unit of the Nigerian police, the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.
The protesters gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, where several youths were reportedly killed and many others severely injured by the Nigerian military.
In the aftermath of the protests, judicial panels were established across various states to assess and review the protests, demands and the attack.
Almost four years later, leaders of the 2020 #EndSARS protest have expressed deep regret that many of the panels’ recommendations have remain unimplemented.
READ MORE; #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria: Police arrest protesters gov in Ondo.
Speaking on Sunday, one of the protesters, said when “They have started firing teargas at us, I fell into the gutter and I was hit on the head.”
Another youth who also participated in the protest, said, “I was hit too, I had a few scratches on my body. Some people have also been arrested.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that there was no confrontation with the #EndSARS protesters, they were told to disperse, but they were adamant; we had to use minimal force to disperse to prevent traffic disruption at the Lekki Toll Gate.
