Organizers of Wednesday’s protests called the dead “fallen heroes” and said they would have to come to the toll gate to remember them.
There was often a tense standoff between security forces and protesters, who arrested a handful of people, including a man being interviewed by CNN.
Ahead of the memorial event, the organizers and the Lagos State Police Commissioner agreed that the only mode of protest could be in vehicles and not through street marches.
However, some protesters were “in solidarity forever” and “how many of us will we kill?” They took to the streets shouting slogans.
In an interview with the media, police soon fired tear gas to disperse those who had “misled” those protesting in the streets.
Meanwhile, at a news conference held on Wednesday in Abuja, the Nigerian government once again denied that police fired on protesters on October 20 last year – calling it a “phantom massacre” – and criticized CNN’s on the shooting. criticized. The reporting was described as “baseless”. “
“When I saw my son, I screamed and held him … he was bleeding, he had a bullet wound on his chest. His clothes were torn and the bullet came out of his back.”
His son died in his arms when he tried to take her to the hospital. A year later, she’s still waiting for an answer as to what happened.
Witnesses told CNN they saw the military removing several bodies from the scene.
The #EndSARS protest in October 2020 lasted for almost two weeks before being silenced by the shooting at the Lekki toll gate. Their initial demand was for a notorious police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, which was shut down, but marched to protest police reform and an end to poor governance in the oil-rich country. were organized. turned into.
CNN’s Stephanie Busari reported from Lagos and Nimi Princeville from Abuja.
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