Police fired teargas on Tuesday morning to disperse residents, journalists, and political figures gathered at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos for a memorial honoring victims of the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
Among those affected were Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos, and Funso Doherty, his Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) counterpart.
The memorial, organised by the Enough is Enough (EiE) movement, was intended to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS demonstrations and remember those who lost their lives during the protests against police brutality.
However, police officers had converged on the tollgate before the ceremony began and moved to prevent the gathering. As teargas canisters were fired, participants, including the politicians and journalists, scrambled for safety, and the planned wreath-laying could not take place.
The dispersal caused panic around the busy expressway, with some persons reportedly injured and traffic building up in the area. The incident has renewed concerns about the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, six years after the #EndSARS protests.
TheCable however reports that according to the Lagos state judicial panel of inquiry’s report on the Lekki incident of October 20, 2020, nine people were confirmed dead, while four others were listed as missing and presumed dead.
The nine listed as dead are Victor Sunday Ibanga, Abuta Solomon, Jide, Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa, Kolade Salami, Folorunsho Olabisi, Kenechukwu Ugoh and Nathaniel Solomon.
The four listed as missing and presumed dead were Abiodun Adesanya, Ifeanyi Nicholas Eji, Tola and Wisdom.
The organisers said they had arrived at the venue with 15 wreaths including one for
Pelumi Onifade, the journalist who was shot dead during the anti-police brutality protests.
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