Michael AndeyinOver 17 people participating in the fourth remembrance of the EndSARS Lekki Toll Gate massacre have been arrested in Lagos State. FIJ saw clips showing the protesters calling for help.
“I am speaking to you right now in a Black Maria completely brutalised and my glasses have been damaged,” Hassan Taiwo Soweto, one of the protesters, said from a police van.
“We are asking here, today, when has the right to commemorate [people’s] death become illegal and criminalised in this country? We are marking the anniversary of our brothers and sisters who were brutally killed four years ago at the Lekki Toll Gate.”
@j_samdavid on X named some of the protesters detained in a Black Maria: Remilekun Orunsolu, Olamide Thomas, Micheal Adedeji, Adeseye Eshe and Olamilekan Sanusi.
Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, raised the alarm on Sunday morning.
“Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto and 17 other activists have been arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate,” Inibehe posted on X.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Lagos Police Teargas EndSARS Memorial Demonstrators
Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto and 17 other activists have been arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate.They were brutalized and are currently being detained in State CID Panti by the police for commemorating the memorial of the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre.They were entirely peaceful and… pic.twitter.com/flpq2QuEqw— Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) October 20, 2024
“They were brutalised and are currently being detained in State CID Panti by the police for commemorating the memorial of the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre.”
Emphasising that the protesters were peaceful in their conduct, Effiong said that he would ensure their release.
“They were entirely peaceful and did not disrupt public peace in anyway. We will do everything under the law to secure their release. This is unconstitutional and unacceptable,” the lawyer added.
READ ALSO: Judicial Inquiry Into Pelumi Onifade’s Death Launched 4 Years After His Death
In another post by Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, more protesters explained how they were brutalised and put inside Black Maria buses.
The @PoliceNG continues to engage in torture, repression, inhuman and degrading treatment of Nigerians and exactly this was the reason #EndSARS revolts took place on October 20 2020 pic.twitter.com/vWCTO6ZdUz— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) October 20, 2024
On Sunday, scores of people converged on Lekki Toll Gate to commemorate the EndSARS victims.
FIJ had earlier reported that police officers who were meant to ensure orderliness at the toll gate were shooting tear gas at the EndSARS advocates.
Additional reporting by Emmanuel Uti
The post Protesters Speak From Black Maria as Lagos Police Arrest Over 17 at EndSARS Memorial appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.
