At least 18 protesters commemorating the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests have been reportedly arrested by Nigeria Police operatives. These nationwide protests, which occurred from October 1 to 20, 2020, arose in response to police brutality against citizens. Tragically, on October 20, 2020, lives were lost during the protests at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State. During the recent commemoration on Sunday, some young people gathered at the toll gate where they faced tear gas and were detained by police. Messages from Juwon Sanyaolu, the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, and Omole Ibukun, the Initiator of the Creative Change Centre, indicated that among those arrested was Hassan Soweto, the National Spokesperson for the Youth Rights Campaign. According to their reports, “Soweto and 17 other members of the #EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos were apprehended this morning at the Lekki Toll Gate while marking the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS killings. Their current detention location is unknown, and we demand their immediate and unconditional release. Peaceful protest is a fundamental right.”In a tweet, Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress presidential candidate from the 2023 elections, stated that the protesters were beaten before being placed into a police van. He mentioned they had been moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department at Panti, located in the Yaba area of Lagos. His tweet declared: “The #PoliceNG has arrested over 18 peaceful protesters at #LekkiMassacreRemembrance at #LekkiTollGate. They were subjected to severe beatings and torture while temporarily detained in their Black Maria at the toll gate. They have since been relocated to the notorious SCIID station at Panti in Yaba.”Additionally, a Twitter user named Frednardo da Vinci shared a video of people chanting solidarity songs while in a moving vehicle, stating, “We have just been arrested at the Lekki toll gate where we marched to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the victims of #EndSARS.”The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be reached for comment at the time of writing, as his phone went unanswered.
