Police on Tuesday disrupted a memorial procession at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos organised to honour victims of the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
The operatives fired tear fuel at members, together with two governorship candidates and journalists, earlier than the deliberate wreath-laying ceremony may happen.
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos, and Funso Doherty, who’s searching for the identical workplace on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), had been amongst these affected.
The gathering, organised by the Enough is Enough (EiE) motion to mark the sixth anniversary of the anti-police brutality protests, was delivered to an abrupt halt when officers, who had arrived at the tollgate earlier than the members, fired tear fuel to disperse the gang.
The intervention despatched residents, journalists and different members scrambling for security, forcing the organisers to desert the deliberate wreath-laying ceremony.
Some members reportedly sustained accidents, whereas others struggled to breathe amid the tear fuel.
The disruption additionally induced site visitors to construct up alongside the busy expressway.
The organisers had introduced 15 wreaths to the venue to honour those that died through the protests, together with Pelumi Onifade, a journalist who was shot lifeless in Lagos through the nationwide demonstrations.
The incident occurred on the anniversary of the October 20, 2020, occasions at the tollgate, which turned a defining second within the nationwide protests towards police brutality and the actions of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The Lekki incident stays probably the most contentious episodes of the protests. It attracted worldwide consideration and intensified requires accountability over using power by safety companies.
According to the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry’s report on the incident, 9 individuals had been confirmed lifeless, whereas 4 others had been listed as lacking and presumed lifeless.
Those recognized as lifeless had been Victor Sunday Ibanga, Abuta Solomon, Jide, Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa, Kolade Salami, Folorunsho Olabisi, Kenechukwu Ugoh and Nathaniel Solomon.
The 4 listed as lacking and presumed lifeless had been Abiodun Adesanya, Ifeanyi Nicholas Eji, Tola and Wisdom.
The #EndSARS protests started as a nationwide motion towards police brutality, extortion, illegal arrests and alleged abuses by SARS.
The demonstrations prompted the Federal Government to announce the disbandment of the unit in October 2020.
However, the Lekki tollgate taking pictures and the circumstances surrounding deaths and accidents through the protests have continued to gasoline calls for for justice and accountability.
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