Police disperse protesters with tear gas during #EndSARS 4th anniversary rally at Lekki Toll Gate
Officers of the Lagos State Police Command used tear gas and made arrests on Sunday as they dispersed protesters rallying to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, a movement that gained international attention in October 2020.
Videos from the scene showed demonstrators fleeing as shots were fired into the air, and clouds of tear gas filled the area.
The protesters, who had gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate around 8:30 a.m. with banners and placards, called for the full implementation of the recommendations made by various judicial panels of inquiry set up in the aftermath of the 2020 protests.
Their placards carried messages demanding justice and accountability for the victims of police brutality and the implementation of reforms promised by the government.
In October 2020, the #EndSARS movement erupted across Nigeria, as thousands of young people took to the streets in major cities to protest against the rampant abuses, killings, and extortion committed by officers of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit within the Nigerian Police Force.
The protests culminated in a tragic confrontation at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, where security forces, including the Nigerian military, reportedly opened fire on peaceful demonstrators. The exact number of fatalities remains contested, but numerous people were severely injured, with reports of deaths surfacing in the days that followed.
Following the tragic events of October 2020, the Nigerian government established judicial panels across various states to investigate the incidents and address the protesters’ demands. However, nearly four years later, many of the panels’ recommendations have yet to be fully implemented, leaving protesters and human rights advocates disillusioned.
READ ALSO:
Speaking at the scene of the recent rally, one of the protesters recounted his experience during the police dispersal. In his words “They have started firing tear gas at us. I fell into the gutter; I was hit on the head,” he told an online media.
In another video obtained by Vanguard on social media, one of the arrested activists, Hassan Soweto, speaking from the Black Maria, said: “A group of protesters who wanted to mark the fourth anniversary of the EndSars Lekki Toll Gate event were apprehended by a group of policemen under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State. I am right now speaking to you from a black maria, completely beaten by police officers without provocation.
“We’re asking here today when the right to commemorate the dead has become illegal and criminalised in this country. We’re simply here to mark the passage of our brothers and sisters who were killed four years ago, we’re asking the international media and members of the public to prevail over the Nigerian government, and the Tinubu regime to stop further attacks on protesters in our country. We’re never going to give up on our right to continue to demand our rights.”
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, defended the police action, stating that the protesters were causing traffic disruptions at the toll gate.
“They were told to disperse, but they were adamant; we had to use minimal force to disperse them,” Hundeyin said.
He denied that there was any confrontation between the police and protesters, despite reports of arrests and injuries.
As the world reflects on the significance of the #EndSARS movement, which brought attention to police brutality in Nigeria and across Africa, the events of this rally highlight ongoing frustrations among activists.
Many are still seeking justice for the victims of the Lekki Toll Gate shooting and demanding that the promises of police reform and accountability be fulfilled.
Earlier today, a group of Nigerians gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate to mark the 4th anniversary of the #EndSARS protest, which resulted in the massacre of unarmed protesters. The police dispersed the crowd with teargas. pic.twitter.com/FoDNFEq4bm
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) October 20, 2024
Governor gives condition to pay workers N80,000 minimum wage
One of the governors in the southern part of the country, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State says civil servants in the state would be paid N80,000 as their new minimum wage after a verification exercise.
Although the governor didn’t disclose when the payment would be effected, he stressed that government is working with the organized labour, to ascertain actual number of state workers in the system.
“We have already paid the 13-month salary popularly known as ‘Eno-mber’. Together, with the Organized Labour, work on the verification exercise of actual number of public service employees is ongoing and we hope the process will end very soon so we may commence the payment of the 80 thousand Naira minimum wage we have agreed on.
“We will continue to focus on the needs of our people, while challenging them to arise and flourish through the creative application of the talents and creativity God has embedded in us all, ” the governor said.
READ ALSO:
While delivering his Christmas message, the governor said said bags of rice have been given out to bring Christmas cheers to every corner and cranny of the state.
“We have released 20 bags of rice to be given to each of the 2, 272 gazetted villages in the State. This is a season of glad tidings and we are hopeful that other stakeholders all over the 368 wards will complement the efforts of government to touch the lives of the people in their respective communities.
“Our state is peaceful, safe and secure, and I urge our great and resourceful youths to help maintain this status during the Yuletide.
“I enjoin them to shun anti-social tendencies or acts capable of disturbing public peace.
“Let us wear our unity and love as badges of honour and continue to celebrate our bonds of kindredship, which, thankfully, is currently in full display at the Christmas Unplugged 2024 edition.
“I am aware of the extraordinary cultural display and renaissance currently on going at the Christmas Village and the thousands of visitors that are trooping in daily. This is who and what we are all about- the spirit of Akwa Ibom: Happy, industrious, united, creative and God-fearing people, bound by shared aspirations, hopes and dreams,” he said.
Man lures varsity student to Kogi burial ground, slits his throat
A year two student of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara in Kogi, Usman Tijani, has narrowly escaped death following a brutal attack reportedly by his friend, Abdulmuqeet Musari, Police has said.
The Kogi Command’s Spokesman, SP Williams Aya, confirmed the incident and detention of the suspect by the command in Lokoja on Thursday.
Aya said: “The suspect has been in our custody, and investigation is ongoing.
“He will be arraigned on completion of the investigation.”
Narrating the incident in a statement, the Chairman, Adavi Local Government Area (LGA), Mr Bashiru Okatenwu, stated that the incident occurred at about 8 pm on December 23, around Adavi Burial Ground, New Zango in Adavi.
According to the statement issued by Okatenwu’s Media Aide, Suleiman Acheneje, in Adavi, the victim is a 200-level student of the Department of Cyber Security in CUSTECH.
READ ALSO:
“In the late hours of December 23, between 7 pm and 8 pm precisely, an unforseen circumstance happened around Adavi Burial Ground, where a young boy, named Usman Tijani, got attacked by one of the bad eggs we still have in our society.
“Usman was brutally injured by Abdulmuqeet Musari, whose intent was, no doubt, to kill him.
“The victim was found nearly dead and rescued around 2 am in
New Zango, Adavi LGA, where he was immediately rushed to Lokoja and has since been receiving treatment in a hospital there.
“The culprit was already in the run but Kudos to the people’s Governor, the Chairman Of Adavi, and their Security intel, as they were able to apprehend the culprit in Ekiti,” Okatenwu said.
He assured the good people of Adavi of his administration’s commitment toward ensuring adequate security for their lives and property.
Meanwhile, a relation of the victim, Zainab Avosuahu, who commented on the issue through her Meta (Facebook) page post on Tuesday, said the suspect allegedly lured her nephew into the bush, collected N200,000 from him and slit his throat.
Avosuahu stated: “the 19-year-old victim, who runs a POS business, is currently undergoing surgery in a Lokoja hospital.
“This is a call for justice for my nephew, whom his friend dragged to the bush, collected 200k from and still have his throat butchered (slit).
NANS faults detention of Naomi, others over Ibadan stampede
The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, yesterday, faulted the arraignment and remand in prison of a philanthropist and former queen of the Ooni of Ife, Naomi Silekunola, and others, over the death of 35 children in a funfair stampede, last week, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
NANS said though the tragic event was unfortunate, the former queen should not be punished for her philanthropic gestures which she has been doing over the years.
Silekunola is one of three persons brought before the Iyaganku Magistrate Court in Ibadan in connection with a terrible funfair stampede that killed 35 children last week.
But the student body, in a statement by the Clerk of the Senate, NANS National headquarters, Abdul-Yekinn Odunayo, described the detention of the philanthropist as wrong and unnecessary.
Odunayo argued that rather than making the former queen of Ife a scapegoat for her kind gesture, the government, especially at the federal level, should find solutions to the hunger that has permeated the core of the country.
READ ALSO:
According to him, if the government had addressed the parlous economic situation which had exacerbated hunger, such a fatal stampede would have been avoided.
He said records had clearly shown that Naomi had organised numerous outreach programmes over the past decade to assist the needy, elderly, children, and pregnant women across Nigeria without incident, insisting that ugly incident in Ibadan was due to the widespread poverty in the land.
The statement reads: “Rather than holding Naomi and others solely responsible for the unfortunate deaths of children in Ibadan, the government should by now realize that hunger is real in the country. The government is vicariously liable as it has failed to revamp the economy and address poverty.
“Similar deaths in the FCT and Anambra have shown that our government has failed in its duty to ensure availability of food to Nigerians. Or was it Naomi that organized the event in other locations? Why has the government not brought the organizers in the FCT and Anambra State to the book?
“NANS hereby calls for the release of the former Queen of Ife and others; their continued detention will no doubt discourage others from philanthropy. We view the step taken by the Oyo State government as a volte face and subterfuge for the government’s failure to address the issue of poverty and hunger pummeling Nigerians.”
Ibadan stampede: Court sends Ooni’s ex-Queen, Hamzat, other to prison
INTERPOL declares 14 Nigerians wanted for drug, human trafficking
[UPDATED] I never lied, truth is my weapon against injustice – Dele Farotimi declares after release
Arrest Abuja, Anambra palliative organisers or set those in Ibadan free — MURIC
Jigawa State governor loses son 24 hours after mother’s death
Ibadan stampede: She was treated like a terrorist, Queen Naomi’s sister says about her condition
Makinde speaks on Sharia court controversy in Oyo
MultiChoice announces free access to all DSTV channels for 3 days
