Lekki Toll Gate Massacre: What Would History Remember?

Here’s why people are talking about Nigeria… 

#END SARS/SWAT  #JUSTICE FOR LEKKI MASSACRE

It’s been a week—regrettably, a murky one, in the pages of the nation’s history —since Nigerians witnessed the brutal open-fire on unarmed #EndSars protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate—the same venue that had become home to peaceful protesters since the protest and nationwide unrest to End SARS began, on the 18th of October in Lagos State, Nigeria.

The #EndSARS movement which began as an online (Twitter) movement in 2017 with the hashtag #EndSARS was targeted towards the government to disband and put a stop to police brutality and corruption.

The social movement gradually moved to the streets as young people made physical demonstrations across major cities in the country. Lekki Toll Gate, being one of the largest convergence for protesters in Lagos State was where the massacre took place. 

It was a mind-boggling #BlackTuesday and most likely one of the toughest nights in the history of the country for youths, women, institutions, and citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria alike, both home and abroad, as the entire nation was plunged into an unexpected state of mourning and trepidation. 

The demonstration online garnered above 28 million tweets as celebrities, international bodies, and individuals like the U.S presidential candidate Joe Biden, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Nigerian international footballer Odion Ighalo, and members of Nigerian Women’s National football team, including Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene, and many more all lent their voices to condemn the massacre.

Source: Wikipedia.

These individuals raised their voices against the plunder, rape, robbery, theft, harassment, and gross violation of human Rights amidst other acts perpetrated by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad Force. There were numerous testimonies, video evidence, photos of brutality, and tweet threads that circulated social media, showing the heinous activities of SARS.

Many individuals mourned for the loss of loved ones, while the majority of the populace mourned for a country that could have been anything else, but a place where the lives of its young people were traded for little or no value. 

What had been deemed a peaceful demonstration, notably the first of its kind in a long time, in the history of Nigeria, was gruesomely hijacked and turned into a shady, misconstrued, and very fondly manipulated event that led to the death of many protesters including the devastating amount of injuries sustained by many who demanded enforcement of the 5-point demand to dissolve the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). 

While some bled physically at the Lekki toll gate, others who managed to scamper to safety amidst the sporadic shooting by ‘unidentified’ gunmen who were clearly in identifiable military uniforms bled within their hearts and took to their social media outlets to express their grief.

Pictures of the Nigerian flag looking bloodied and splattered carelessly with the blood of young Nigerians appeared menacingly on social media as anxiety, tears and outrage multiplied. Turning to Twitter to protest against the sudden events, citizens demanded that someone take responsibility for this uncouth menace and deed of injustice perpetrated against unarmed End SARS/SWAT protesters at the Lekki toll gate. 

It did not end here, as several witnesses had a lot to say about the Lekki toll gate massacre. A lot that contradicted what the government had to say too. 

The protesters who had been camping around the lekki toll gate for over two weeks before the massacre made their demonstrations by inhibiting the flow of traffic and economy activities within that area. 

Confirmed by eyewitnesses, a report given by Amnesty International, showed that on the night of the shooting, all CCTV cameras, electricity supplied to the toll gate, advertisements billboards, and communication providers like MTN and Airtel were invariably turned off from the axis, making calls and internet access next to impossible. 

Mind you, the cameras, and advertisement billboards had never been turned off before, not even during the Novel coronavirus pandemic. 

Clearly, these directives were given in a fashion that appeared to indicate someone or a group of people with an ulterior motive and state of power, had a prior intention to raid and infiltrate the protesters in that premises.

Several witnesses confirmed that as soon as the lights were turned off suspiciously at the Lekki toll gate, soldiers in uniforms easily recognizable in the Nigerian Army uniform arrived heavily armed with loaded rifles in their vehicles, and opened fire for nearly thirty minutes on the protesters at the Toll Gate as they chanted and sang In defiance, the Nigeria National Anthem with raised flags.

What Was Said Versus What Happened

In contrast to these events, the Governor of Lagos state, Sanwo-Olu Babajide released a statement in a live briefing, where he initially denied that there were no casualties and he had no idea who ordered military men to open fire at protestants. 

The president, Muhammad Buhari in a speech released on the 22nd of October 2020, did not acknowledge or make any reference to the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre as well. 

The governor, Sanwo-Olu, however, promised to begin investigations immediately to monitor and identify the events of the shootings, stating that everything that had occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate was done without his orders. 

Following this statement, the Nigerian military tweeted to inform the public that videos that showed soldiers shooting at the scene —including the live video that had about 12 people lying dead on the floor—were false and obviously doctored to incriminate the force. With this statement put out, they encouraged the citizens to remain calm as they hoped to begin identification and investigation into what was termed as ‘extrajudicial’ killings. 

Before this statement, videos of the event had begun to surface online, and renowned Nigerian artists streamed live the events of the attack before and after the shootings. An Instagram live recording shot at the scene of the massacre by Obianuju Catherine Udeh, professionally known as DJ Switch, who is a renowned Nigerian DJ, songwriter, and musician, displayed wounded young Nigerians scampering for their lives, and dead bodies strewn on the floor as the soldiers opened fire on them all. 

To date, the government has not adopted effective measures to identify who had been behind the shootings, and offer justice to the Lekki Gate Massacre, despite video evidence showing the Nigerian army as perpetrators of this incident. 

The number of casualties lost to the events is still unknown, and Wikipedia reports that there have been varied reports and complaints about missing protesters including friends and family members.

Amnesty International reported that an estimate of 12 or more protestants were gunned down during the massacre at the lekki toll gate. 

On the 20th of October, Lagos-based risk advisory, SBM Intelligence gathered data hours after the shooting, stating that over 46 people were killed at the lekki toll gate. 

On October 23, DJ switch made a live video on Instagram where she admitted to have seen over 15 dead bodies strewn on the floor as she scampered to safety. 

Wall Street Journal also did an investigative report, concluding from the videos circulating on social media that the massacre indeed took place at the Lekki toll gate. 

The odds clearly not in his favor, the Governor of the state, on the 21st of October announced, against his initial declaration, and admitted that only two persons were killed at the Lekki toll gate. 

Source: Wikipedia.

Reactions After the Lekki Massacre

Following the fear and insecurity that gripped the minds of both young and old as the protest turns bloody, numerous reactions and unanswered questions continued to fester in the minds of the people.

Thankfully, On Oct 24, Sahara reporters published a forensic analysis report that proved the Lekki toll gate killings indeed happened, and these “open-sourced evidences contradicted denials”. 

The statement was made by Jean Le Roux:

“Several videos corroborate the location and presence of Nigerian soldiers at the Lekki Toll Plaza, a major toll highway toll concession in the South of Lagos… Video footage posted on Twitter places Nigerian soldiers at the plaza where they are seen approaching peaceful demonstrators and opening fire. Subsequent footage shows injured civilians being carried away from the same location.”

On October 26, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, and the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Sagir Musa released a statement that Sahara reporters reports as:

“after initial denial by the Nigerian Army that its officers were not at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos, where peaceful protesters were shot and killed last Tuesday, the military has come out to say its officers were only ensuring compliance with a curfew put in place by Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, earlier that day.”

This statement was made due to pressure from some forces to speak up or the Nigerian army would be made to face visa ban from foreign countries and the international criminal court.

The soldiers who have been traced to have been deployed from 65 Battalion, Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, Lagos, openly confirmed that they were drafted for the mission under the request of the Governor stating that they just wanted to ensure that protesters adhered to the curfew laws which had already been postponed till 9 pm of October 2020.

Source: Saharareporters.

With all of this, it poses the grand question… What is the fate of the Nigerian youths in the face of oppression and security tyranny?

To date, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has made no effort to identify the masterminds behind the ‘extrajudicial’ massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate. The government has preferred to remain silent, while some still state that the lekki Toll Gate shooting did not happen. These perpetrators are yet to be identified despite countless pieces of evidence within and beyond the scene that shows that the lekki massacre really happened. 

Despite evidence that young Nigerian youths, the future of the nation, were brutally gunned down amidst cries and chants of solidarity to the Nigeria of their dreams, the Nigeria of the future, the unborn Nigeria they sought to fight for, these soldiers not only infringed on their human rights but also eliminated their chance to witness the better Nigeria they sought to freedom for. 

Indeed, the End SARS protest was an avenue to express years of shielded grief at the age-long psychotic reign of poor leaders, police brutality, and poor government implementations across the country. 

The event which took place at about 6:50 pm WAT, on the 20th of October 2020, painted clear pictures that stood against the same police brutality and right to fundamental Human Rights that the peaceful EndSars protesters had long protested against across several states, on the streets of Nigeria. It was clearly an infringement on the fundamental human rights and civil order that these protesters had managed to uphold since the protest began. 

There’s a reason why Nigeria, a country in the west of Africa has controversially been renowned as the toppling giant of Africa. This name has undoubtedly gained traction following the receding progress of its governance and economy over the past years. Surely, you’d agree with me that a giant can only continue to maintain her status of authority if surrounded by dwarfs of minuscule excellence. Nigeria is clearly a giant who has continued to show uncouth and injurious actions to its people in all ramifications. 

Although the economic buoyancy of Nigeria is not the focus of this article, it is important to note that all of this can be tied down to imminent corruption and bad leadership.  

The Way Forward: What Would History Remember?

We can’t pretend like nothing happened. There are a lot of questions hovering over us all, and these questions need answers.

With all these reactions given, it still poses the question; how will the Lekki protesters be remembered?

From time immemorial, the anchors of history have been known to paint a single story, one that is clearly untrue and lacking on both sides, and as Chimamanda Adichie, a renowned Award-winning Nigerian author asserts, “the single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

When all this Is over, it is my wish that the details of these epochal events are remembered, passed down, and preserved just as it is, and not as a single incomplete story. 

Sons and daughters of the soil whose blood have been shed in the cause of freedom and emancipation of the Nigerian people against police brutality, bad governance, leadership, and the freedom of the new generations would be remembered as true heroes; not stereotyped, not compromised. 

The path that leads to good became the path that led to hell. What we wanted was different from what we got. But despite this, we love this country, and together we can work it, and work it eventually to its best.

Never forget the lives lost, never forgetting the sacrifice of our true heroes.

There is clearly an attempt to manipulate the events of the Lekki massacre and the #EndSars movement and present it short of what it is—this development may in turn jeopardize the face, outlook, and intents of one party as opposed to the other. 

Today, no matter the side history takes, it will be remembered that Nigerians youths lent their voice to #EndSARS, #EndSwat,  #EndPoliceBrutality, #EndBadGovernance, and #MakeNigeriaBetterAgain. 

All images are sourced from twitter.com