Five years have passed since that fateful night October 20, 2020, when the hopes of a generation were drowned by the crackle of gunfire at the Lekki Toll Gate. It began as a peaceful call for justice, a movement that united millions of young Nigerians under one simple demand: End SARS. But it became something greater, a call for dignity, accountability, and humanity in a nation that often forgets the value of its youth.
The #EndSARS protest was not just about police brutality. It was about frustration over bad governance, corruption, and lost opportunities. It was about a generation tired of mourning classmates, brothers, and sisters gunned down or extorted by those sworn to protect them. For once, Nigerians spoke in one voice, Christians, Muslims, Northerners, Southerners demanding change without violence. The unity was rare. The spirit was electric. Hope filled the streets.
Then came the night of silence. The lights went out, cameras stopped recording, and shots rang out. Civilians waving the green-white-green and singing the national anthem fell. It was a tragedy that still haunts our collective memory, a betrayal of trust between the governed and those in power.
What followed was denial. Gaslighting. A rewriting of history in real time. Government officials dismissed the incident as “fake news,” while survivors were hunted, accounts frozen, passports seized. Yet, videos, eyewitnesses, and global reactions told a story that could not be erased, not from the internet, not from the minds of those who were there.
Five years later, there are still no convictions, no justice, no closure. The panels set up in the aftermath offered promises but little truth. Some victims have vanished into silence, others into exile. The scars remain visible in the distrust between citizens and state.
But October 20 is not just a day of mourning, it is a day of memory. It is the day Nigerians realized that peace without justice is just the calm before another storm. The Lekki Toll Gate may stand, but it will forever be a monument of broken promises and unhealed wounds.
History must not forget. Those who died deserve more than hashtags. They deserve justice, truth, and remembrance. For on that night, Nigeria’s conscience bled and the world watched.
By Lanre Mustapha
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