The two Lagos governorship candidates were among residents and journalists dispersed during a wreath-laying ceremony marking six years since the 2020 protests.
Police officers on Tuesday fired teargas to disperse residents, journalists and politicians gathered at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos for a memorial honouring victims of the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos, and Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) were among those at the venue for the wreath-laying ceremony organised by the Enough is Enough (EiE) movement.
The incident occurred on October 20, the sixth anniversary of the Lekki tollgate shooting, when security operatives opened fire on protesters during demonstrations against police brutality.
According to accounts of Tuesday’s incident, police officers had gathered at the tollgate before the memorial began and moved to disperse the crowd with teargas, preventing the wreaths from being laid.
Those at the scene reportedly scrambled for safety as the fumes spread. Some people were injured, while others struggled to breathe. Traffic also began to build up along the busy expressway.
The organisers said they had brought 15 wreaths for the ceremony, including one in honour of Pelumi Onifade, a journalist who died after being arrested while covering the 2020 protests in Lagos.
There was no immediate response from the Lagos State Police Command included in the accounts reviewed for this report.
Lekki #EndSARS memorials repeatedly disrupted
The disruption follows previous confrontations between security operatives and people commemorating the protests at the same location.
In October 2021, police fired teargas to disperse participants at the first anniversary memorial. Similar incidents were reported in 2022 and 2024, when officers also dispersed protesters gathered at the tollgate. In 2024, human rights organisations and activists criticised the police over the reported arrest and harassment of participants.
The recurring disruptions have raised concerns about the ability of citizens to commemorate the incident and demand accountability through peaceful gatherings.
The #EndSARS protests began in October 2020 in response to allegations of police brutality, extortion and abuses associated with the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The demonstrations spread across Nigeria before the Lekki tollgate shooting on October 20 became a defining moment in the movement.
What the Lagos panel said about the Lekki shooting
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, established to investigate police brutality and the Lekki incident, reported in November 2021 that nine people were confirmed dead in connection with the tollgate shooting, while four others were listed as missing and presumed dead.
The nine people listed as dead were Victor Sunday Ibanga, Abuta Solomon, Jide, Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa, Kolade Salami, Folorunsho Olabisi, Kenechukwu Ugoh and Nathaniel Solomon.
The four people listed as missing and presumed dead were Abiodun Adesanya, Ifeanyi Nicholas Eji, Tola and Wisdom.
The panel’s report described the shooting as a “massacre in context” and found evidence that soldiers fired live ammunition at protesters. However, the Lagos State Government’s White Paper subsequently rejected the panel’s central findings on the tollgate deaths, describing them as unsupported by sufficient evidence.
The differing positions have remained central to public debate over responsibility for the shooting and the need for accountability.
On Tuesday, the memorial organisers’ attempt to honour those who died was disrupted before the planned wreath-laying could take place, according to accounts of the incident.
