Mohammed Momoh
Many Nigerian celebrities and youths have stormed Abuja and Lagos in memorial processions in respect of those that died on October 20, 2020 during the protests against police brutality, tagged, endSars.
The parades organised by celebrities and social media influencers on Wednesday took place in major streets of Abuja and in Lekki Tollgate in Lagos where many people were believed to have been killed by troops during the 2020 endsars protest.
The 2020 protests against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across the country, turned violent with more than 78 policemen killed, police stations burnt and correctional centres vandalised and inmates set free in Lagos and Benin City.
The protesters wanted authorities to disband the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police which was accused of heavy handedness, brutality, corrupt.
The memorial protest in Lagos on Wednesday witnessed scores of young Nigerians, alongside the celebrities, filled up several cars and buses, blaring horns as they drove through the toll plaza as early morning.
Motorists living in the Lekki-Ajah axis are stuck in traffic as #EndSARS protests caused gridlock along the Lekki expressway stretch of the road.
But while the parade was in progress, officials of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) passed vehicles to ensure a free flow of traffic.
At the Lekki Tollgate, where the 2020 protest turned violent, police on Wednesday arrested some protesters, they described as miscreants and fired teargas to disperse others.
One of those arrested in Lagos said: “I did not do anything. They beat me, they collected my phone, they took my money; the police have not learnt their lessons.”
As the event continued, the number of youths at the venue grew while others came down from their cars, chanting solidarity songs.
One of the celebrities, Debo Macaroni said in his histogram page: “In memory of those who died that day and those we have lost to police brutality, we will: drive through the toll gate from 8-10 am; blast our horns in unison as we drive through and wave our flags.”
“We’re rolling up in cars on Wednesday to drive through the tollgate. We know their way, so a procession of cars is the safest option to minimize police harassment. We will stay in our vehicles throughout.”
Mr Hakeem Odumosu, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, cautioned residents, especially the youth against embarking on any form of protest without the approval of the police.
“If you want to go on vehicular procession, okay. They are not going to stop somewhere, come down somewhere and converge somewhere,” he said.
“I want the criminally minded people to know that the police are up to take care of them.”
Some of the EndSARS protesters took to the streets of in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, especially at the Unity Fountain, from where they trooped to the streets.
Mr Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, was among those who addressed the protesters, who wielded placards within Unity Fountain.
Policemen were seen around the protesters who left the park and marched on the streets while heading to the National Assembly.
However, when they got in front of the Ministry of Justice, policemen formed a barricade and prevented them from marching further.
Chanting on top of their voices, the protesters demanded to be given the right of way but the security operatives stood their ground.
The police authorities had earlier warned against the protests over the widespread violence recorded last year.
In the aftermath of last year’s protests, Nigerian government disbanded the special police squad and also set up panels of enquiries to look into cases of police brutality.
The panels that sat in most states of the federal made many recommendations, including police reforms as well as compensation to victims of brutality.
As the memorial protests lasted, the Federal Government against insisted that protesters were not shot at Lekki Tollgate in Lagos on October 20, 2020.
EndSARS protesters, who were demonstrating against police brutality, were forcefully dispersed by security operatives exactly a year ago.
Mr Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, said on October 20, 2021 a year after the incident, that there was no evidence that people were killed.
“Today marks the first anniversary of the phantom massacre at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, which was the culmination of an otherwise peaceful protest that was later hijacked by hoodlums.”
“At earlier press conferences, I had called the reported massacre at the toll gate the first massacre in the world without blood or bodies. One year later, and despite ample opportunities for the families of those allegedly killed and those alleging a massacre to present evidence, there has been none: No bodies, no families, no convincing evidence, nothing.
“Where are the families of those who were reportedly killed at the toll gate? Did they show up at the Judicial Panel of Inquiry? If not, why?
“Sadly, the champions of a massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate, including Amnesty International and CNN, have continued to shamelessly hold on to their unproven stand.’’
He said that after bandying different figures, Amnesty International finally settled at about 12 people killed while the CNN went from 38 people killed to two to just one.
“On Monday, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry that was set up by the Lagos State Government after the EndSARS protest wrapped up its sitting. During the sitting, CNN was summoned but it never showed up, thus missing a great opportunity to prove its allegation of massacre at the toll gate.
“Also, Amnesty International had a golden opportunity to convince the world, but it rather opted for issuing meaningless press releases.’’
He said that in its latest attempt to grasp at straws and redeem whatever was left of its battered credibility on this issue, CNN has continued with its baseless report that soldiers shot at protesters.
In a report currently running on the network, he said CNN brazenly and unashamedly held on to its flawed narrative, relying on an unidentified mother whose son was reportedly shot dead at Lekki, but without convincing evidence of who shot him dead.
“The same CNN that tweeted on Oct. 23rd 2020 that 38 people were shot dead at Lekki is now struggling to convince the world that one boy was killed at Lekki. What a shame!”
He said that the military did not shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20th 2020, and there was no massacre at the toll gate.
The only ‘massacre’ recorded was in the social media, hence there were neither bodies nor blood, he said.
