Activists and concerned citizens who had assembled to mark the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests were dispersed with tear gas by police at the Lekki Toll Gate, creating a tense standoff.

The event was intended to honour those who died and to commemorate the demonstrations against police brutality.

As tear gas spread through the area, the protesters were compelled to scatter, throwing the planned commemoration into disarray.

Those present at the toll gate included Funso Doherty, the Lagos State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Even with the disruption, the activists pledged to keep pressing for justice and the police reforms that had driven the #EndSARS protests, while preserving the memory of those who lost their lives.

The tension later eased, and the area has since been cleared.

Six years on from the protests, the episode has revived worries about citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

Tuesday’s incident occurred six years after the protests that started in October 2020, when young Nigerians called for an end to police brutality, especially abuses linked to the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The demonstrations spread nationwide, with the Lekki Toll Gate emerging as a central site of the movement. On October 20, 2020, soldiers fired on protesters at the toll gate—an event that remains contested regarding casualties and accountability.

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, which investigated the incident, concluded that protesters were shot at, injured and killed. The state government subsequently rejected key portions of the panel’s findings, including some of its conclusions on casualties.

The anniversary has also been marked by confrontations between security personnel and people gathering at the toll gate in later years.

In October 2021, police fired tear gas during a memorial procession organised by youths and celebrities to honour victims of police brutality. The then Lagos Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, said officers were dispersing people he called “miscreants,” not participants in the procession.

In 2024, police again used tear gas to break up protesters marking the fourth anniversary. The protesters had demanded the full implementation of recommendations from judicial panels set up after the 2020 demonstrations. Police said they acted after the protesters refused to disperse.

The #EndSARS movement resulted in SARS being disbanded in October 2020, but calls for accountability, compensation for victims and wider police reforms have persisted.