Police Teargas Rhodes-Vivour, Funso Doherty, Journalists at Lekki #EndSARS Memorial

Police officers on Tuesday disrupted a memorial gathering at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, firing teargas at participants, including Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), residents and journalists.

The incident occurred on October 20, 2026, as participants gathered to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, which swept across Nigeria in October 2020 over allegations of police brutality and demands for sweeping reforms in the country’s security system.

The memorial was organised by the Enough is Enough (EiE) movement, which had planned a wreath-laying ceremony to honour people who died or went missing during the protests. However, the presence of police officers at the tollgate and the subsequent deployment of teargas prevented participants from carrying out the planned ceremony.

Witnesses and media reports said the teargas triggered panic as people scrambled to escape the fumes. Some participants reportedly sustained injuries, while others experienced breathing difficulties. The disruption also affected traffic along the busy expressway as the gathering dispersed.

Rhodes-Vivour and Doherty were among the political figures present at the event. Their participation brought prominent opposition voices into the commemoration, which was intended to keep public attention focused on the victims of the protests and the continuing calls for accountability over police misconduct.

The organisers had reportedly brought 15 wreaths for the ceremony. These included tributes to nine people listed as dead in connection with the Lekki incident, four individuals listed as missing and presumed dead, journalist Pelumi Onifade, and other unidentified victims.

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry’s report on the October 20, 2020, incident listed nine people as dead and four as missing and presumed dead. The names of those listed among the dead included Victor Sunday Ibanga, Abuta Solomon, Jide, Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa, Kolade Salami, Folorunsho Olabisi, Kenechukwu Ugoh and Nathaniel Solomon.

Those listed as missing and presumed dead were Abiodun Adesanya, Ifeanyi Nicholas Eji, Tola and Wisdom. The planned tribute to Onifade also underscored the risks faced by journalists covering the protests and related events. Onifade was killed in Lagos in October 2020 while covering events linked to the protests.

The Lekki Toll Gate remains a powerful symbol of the #EndSARS movement, which began as a youth-led campaign against alleged abuses by the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The events of October 20, 2020, at the tollgate drew national and international attention and left lasting questions about the conduct of security forces and the accountability of public institutions.

The latest disruption has renewed concerns about the ability of Nigerians to gather peacefully to remember victims of state violence and express their views. Previous anniversary gatherings at the tollgate have also faced police restrictions, arrests and allegations of excessive force, keeping the debate over citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly firmly in the public domain.

Despite the disruption, the central message of the planned memorial remains significant: six years after the #EndSARS protests, families, activists and other Nigerians continue to demand justice for victims, accountability for abuses and meaningful police reform. The incident at the Lekki Toll Gate has once again placed those demands at the centre of public attention.