EndSARS Anniversary: Police Fire Tear Gas at Lekki Toll Gate as Doherty, Rhodes-Vivour Join Remembrance
Police fired tear gas to disperse activists and concerned Nigerians who gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, disrupting a planned remembrance for victims of police brutality.
The gathering was organised to honour those who lost their lives during the 2020 demonstrations and renew calls for justice, accountability and comprehensive police reforms. Participants were forced to flee as tear gas spread across the area, interrupting the commemoration.
Among those present were Funso Doherty, the Lagos State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Their presence brought political attention to an anniversary that continues to carry significance for activists and Nigerians demanding changes in law enforcement.
Despite the disruption, some participants remained determined to honour the victims and continue advocating for reform. Images from the gathering showed a woman continuing to pay tribute at the toll gate despite the police operation. Tension later subsided, and the area was reported to have cleared.
The incident has renewed concerns about the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, particularly on a date closely associated with one of Nigeria’s most prominent youth-led protest movements. The police action also echoes previous anniversaries when security operatives used tear gas to disperse people who gathered at the toll gate.
The #EndSARS protests began in October 2020 as young Nigerians demanded an end to police brutality, particularly abuses linked to the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The demonstrations spread across the country, with the Lekki Toll Gate becoming a central site of protest and public debate after soldiers opened fire on demonstrators there on October 20, 2020.
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry that investigated the incident found that protesters were shot at, injured and killed. However, the Lagos State Government later rejected key parts of the panel’s findings, leaving disagreements over aspects of the incident and accountability unresolved. The events remain a source of public controversy six years later.
The anniversary has also been marked by confrontations between security operatives and protesters in subsequent years. Police used tear gas during a memorial procession in 2021 and again during demonstrations in 2024, when participants called for the implementation of recommendations made by judicial panels established after the protests.
Although SARS was disbanded in October 2020, activists continue to demand accountability for alleged abuses, compensation for victims and wider reforms to policing. Tuesday’s disruption at the Lekki Toll Gate has once again placed those demands, alongside citizens’ rights to peaceful protest, at the centre of the anniversary.