Activists mark five years of ENDSARS, accuse government of ignoring reform promises
Five years after the EndSARS protests shook Nigeria, activists say the government has failed to deliver on its promises of police reform and justice for victims of the 2020 Lekki Toll Gate shootings.
At a quiet memorial on Monday in Lagos, Opeyemi Adamolekun, executive director of Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, was reportedly harassed by security agents while laying flowers at the Lekki Toll Gate — the same site where soldiers opened fire on peaceful demonstrators on October 20, 2020.
The incident has reignited anger among rights advocates who say the government has not implemented recommendations made by judicial panels set up after the protests. “You can exile people, but you cannot exile a memory,” the groups said in a joint statement marking the anniversary. “The memory of what happened in October 2020 rewrote a generation’s relationship with power.”
In the statement, signed by activists including Cheta Nwanze of SBM Intelligence, Chioma Agwuegbo of TechHer, and Rinu Oduala, the coalition accused authorities of rebranding the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) instead of dismantling it. They said cases of torture, extortion and arbitrary detention continue under new police units.
Read also: Nnamdi Kanu behind 233 security deaths in #EndSARS protest – DSS
They also demanded the release of detained protesters such as Dare Williams and Rasheed Wasiu, who remain in custody without trial, and urged the Ministry of Justice to complete the gazetting of revised police regulations under the Police Act 2020.
The groups criticised the federal government’s rejection of the Lagos Judicial Panel’s report, which confirmed the army and police were responsible for a massacre and attempted cover-up. Lagos State later released a white paper describing the incident as a “shooting,” a move that drew widespread condemnation from rights groups.
Read also: Court rejects Sule Lamido’s bid to halt PDP convention
In July 2024, the ECOWAS Court of Justice found Nigeria guilty of human rights violations during the protests and ordered the government to pay compensation to victims. Activists say there has been no sign of compliance.
“The refusal to pursue justice has set a dangerous precedent,” Nwanze said. “Until individuals are held accountable, the shadow of Lekki will loom large.”
As the country marks the fifth anniversary of the protests, campaigners say the unhealed wound of Lekki remains a symbol of the state’s failure to confront police abuse and restore public trust.
