Officers of the Lagos State Police Command have reportedly fired teargas to disperse protesters rallying to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protest, JomogNews reports.
Videos seen on Sunday morning showed protesters fleeing as the police fired shots.
According to eyewitness accounts, the peaceful procession was interrupted when police officers began shooting into the air and deploying tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The protesters had converged around 8:30 am at the toll gate with several banners and placards, calling for the full implementation of the reports submitted by various judicial panels of inquiry set up after the 2020 protests.
In October 2020, thousands of youths gathered in major cities across the country to protest against the constant harassment, killings, and extortion by officers of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigerian police.
The protest culminated at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, where several youths were reportedly killed and many others severely injured following the intervention of the Nigerian military.
In the aftermath of the protests, judicial panels were established across various states to assess and review the protesters’ demands.
However, almost four years later, protest leaders have expressed deep regret that many of the panels’ recommendations remain unimplemented.
Speaking on Sunday, one of the protesters, identified simply as Excel, said he fell into the gutter while running from the teargas fired by the officers.
“They have started firing teargas at us. I fell into the gutter; I was hit on the head,” he told PUNCH Online.
Another protester, Bayo Are, said, “I was hit too. I’m not really injured, just a few scratches on my body. Some people have also been arrested.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that there was no confrontation, but the police had to disperse the protesters to prevent traffic disruption at the Lekki Toll Gate.
“They were told to disperse, but they were adamant; we had to use minimal force to disperse them,” Hundeyin said.
