Police Disperse Lekki Tollgate Memorial With Tear Gas

Police officers on Tuesday fired tear gas to disperse activists, journalists and political figures gathered at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos to commemorate victims of the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.

The memorial procession was organised by the Enough is Enough movement to honour Nigerians who lost their lives during the demonstrations against police brutality six years ago.

Among those present were Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Lagos State governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The gathering was disrupted before participants could complete a planned wreath-laying ceremony at the tollgate, as officers deployed to the area fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Footage shared by media outlets showed participants scrambling to escape as the gas spread across the gathering.

The incident occurred on the sixth anniversary of the October 20, 2020, events at the tollgate, which became a focal point of the nationwide #EndSARS protests demanding an end to police brutality and abuses associated with the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The Lekki incident remains a subject of public debate and continuing demands for accountability. A Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry found that protesters were shot at during the incident, with some sustaining injuries and others losing their lives.

The panel’s findings and the circumstances surrounding the shooting have remained contentious, with calls for transparency and justice continuing years after the protests.

Tuesday’s disruption also revived concerns about the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in Nigeria, particularly during commemorations of the #EndSARS movement.

The Lekki tollgate has witnessed similar confrontations during previous anniversaries. In 2021 and 2022, police also deployed tear gas to disperse people gathered to remember victims of the protests.

The latest incident prevented the planned memorial activities from proceeding as intended, renewing calls from activists for the protection of peaceful gatherings and greater accountability over the events of October 2020.