Nigerians take time each year on October 20 to commemorate the terrible #EndSARS Lekki Toll Gate shooting, a night that forever altered the course of the nation. Beginning as nonviolent demonstrations against extrajudicial executions and police brutality, the 2020 event descended into violence when security personnel allegedly opened fire on unarmed youths singing the national anthem and waving the flag.
As we commemorate the fifth anniversary of that terrible night, people nationwide—and even overseas—are using social media and the streets to pay tribute to the people who died. The hashtags #EndSARS and #LekkiMassacre are trending once more, acting as potent reminders that demands for justice and accountability are still being made.
Despite the fact that government representatives have frequently written off the incident as “exaggerated,” many Nigerians say October 20 serves as a painful reminder of how young people’s voices were silenced. They see truth, justice, and the freedom to demonstrate without fear as being more important than politics in the memory of the Lekki Toll Gate shooting.
During a memorial walk, a protester stated, “We’re not here to fight.” We are here to remind those in authority that we are not forgetting.
