TODAY IN HISTORY:ON THIS DAY OCTOBER 20, 2020:THE NIGHT THAT SILENCED THE STREETS — THE LEKKI TOLL GATE SH0OTING.
TODAY IN HISTORY:ON THIS DAY OCTOBER 20, 2020:THE NIGHT THAT SILENCED THE STREETS — THE LEKKI TOLL GATE SH0OTING.
Before that night, many Nigerians had lived with fe@r of the very people who were supposed to prot€ct them.
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police Force, had been accused of brutality, tor`ture, ext0rtion, unl@wful @rrests and the k!ill!ng of innocent citizens. Young Nigerians told stories of being stopped, h@rassed and treated like crimin@ls because of their appearance, hairstyles, phones or the cars they drove.
For many, enough was enough.
In October 2020, thousands of Nigerians took to the streets in cities across the country. Young people came out in their numbers, demanding an end to pol!ce brut@lity and a Nigeria where they could live without fe@r of those meant to protect them.
The prot€sts grew into a national movement. Nigeria was tense. Streets were filled with demonstrators, songs of solidarity and cries for justice. The hashtag #EndSARS became a symbol of a generation that refused to remain silent.
Then #OnThisDay October 20, 2020.
At the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, prot€sters gathered peacefully. Many sat on the ground, holding the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem. They were un@rmed citizens asking their govern’ment to hear them.
They sang for their country. They waved its flag. They demanded a better future.
But as d@rkness fell, the atmosphere changed.
Electricity at the toll gate had been switched off, and CCTV cameras had reportedly been removed before the sh00ting. Soldiers arrived, and gunf!re erupted.
The same Nigerian flag that had been held high in hope was now being carried amid fe@r, confusion and bloodshed.
People ran for their lives. Others tried to help the wounded. Videos and desper@te accounts from the scene spread across social media, leaving Nigerians at home and abroad in sh0ck.
That night, a p@inful question confronted the nation: How could young people demanding an end to pol!ce brut@lity find themselves facing gunf!re while prot€sting peacefully?
The Lekki Toll Gate shooting became one of the d@rkest moments in Nigeria’s recent history.
In the days that followed, fe@r spread among prot€sters. Demonstrations were violently dispersed in several places, and the nationwide movement l0st its momentum. The shooting became a turning point that helped bring the street protests to an end.
But the questions did not end.
A Lagos State Judici@l Panel of Inquiry later found that sold!ers had sh0t at un@rmed protesters. Amnesty International also documented k!ill!;ngs and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Yet, years later, the demand for accountability remains. Amnesty International reported in October 2021 that no member of the secur!ty forces had been pros€cuted over the killings and abuses it investigated.
F@milies were left grieving. Survivors were left with p@inful memories. And many Nigerians continued to ask whether anyone would ever answer for what happened that night.
October 20 is more than a date on the calendar. For many Nigerians, it is a p@inful reminder of young people who took to the streets because they wanted a country where their lives mattered.
They came out carrying flags, singing the national anthem and asking for justice.
Many went home afraid. Some never returned home.
And one question continues to echo across Nigeria:
WHO GAVE THE ORDER?
Six years later, that question still demands a credible answer….
OCTOBER 20,2020, A Dãte will never Forget
