Lekki Toll Gate Erupts: Police Clash With #EndSARS Protesters Six Years On
Six years after the #EndSARS protests, Nigeria faces ongoing calls for justice regarding the Lekki Toll Gate shootings and worsening socio-economic conditions. The anniversary saw renewed demands for accountability from activists and political figures, while a commemoration at the Lekki Toll Gate was dispersed with tear gas by armed police, underscoring the enduring tensions.
Six years after the landmark nationwide #EndSARS protests, Nigeria continues to grapple with the unresolved issues that sparked the movement, alongside worsening socio-economic conditions and increasing national division. Commemorations on October 20, 2026, marking the anniversary of the protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings, highlighted persistent demands for justice, accountability, and systemic reforms, even as a gathering at the Lekki Toll Gate was met with tear gas by armed police.
The #EndSARS campaign, which gained global momentum in October 2020, centered on demands for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit notorious for human rights abuses, and broader governance and police reforms. The protests tragically culminated on October 20, 2020, when security forces opened fire on demonstrators gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. Skit maker and actor Debo Adedayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni, noted that nine people were confirmed dead and four others listed as missing and presumed dead, including Victor Ibanga, Abuta Solomon, Jide, Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa, Kolade Salami, Folorunsho Olabisi, Kenechukwu Ugoh, and Nathaniel Solomon among the deceased, and Abiodun Adesanya, Ifeanyi Nicholas Eji, Tola, and Wisdom among the missing. Despite the Federal Government subsequently dissolving SARS and promising structural reforms, civil rights advocates and youth groups insist that key systemic issues, accountability for victims, and socio-economic pressures remain unresolved.
The call for justice was loud and clear from various quarters. Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, Omoyele Sowore, vowed to reopen investigations into the Lekki Toll Gate killings, identify those who ordered and carried out the shootings, and ensure their prosecution if elected president. Sowore condemned what he described as