EndSars memorial protesters
Arrested protesters marking the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings at the Lekki Toll Gate in 2020 have been recounting their ordeal in the hands of the police.
The protesters, though released hours after their arrest at the Lekki Toll Gate area, were met with resistance from the police whom they accused of brutality and inhumane treatment during the memorial procession on Sunday.
“We are protesters who wanted to mark the anniversary of #EndSARS but were apprehended by a group of policemen under the leadership of the commissioner of police,” one of the protesters said in a video posted on X by human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong.
“I am right here speaking to you from a Black Maria brutalised and beaten by the police, my glasses were taken away from my eyes by a police officer without any provocation. We are asking today when it has become illegal to protest in this country.”
Lagos State Police Command while explaining reason for their arrest, said the protesters did not write to seek and obtain police clearance and permission before embarking on the procession.
“Constitutionally, they should write to me as the Commissioner of Police but they did not write and as such, any of such gathering is illegal and by extension, the police will not allow it to happen,” the State Police Commissioner, Olanrewaju Ishola, told Channels Television.
Many Nigerians including international rights group, Amnesty International, have condemned the arrest of protesters, arguing that it was against their fundamental rights to protest and associate.
“Amnesty International condemns the Nigeria police for the violent attack on people who assembled at Lekki Toll Gate to honour peaceful protesters killed during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in October 2020. The reckless use of tear gas and arrests are unacceptable,” the group said on X.
