“You can’t dash me, my human rights…” – Fela Anikulapo Kuti (Beast of No Nation)
The currency of democracy is trust: trust that those elected will govern in good faith and uphold the welfare and security of all citizens, as guaranteed by the Constitution. For years, that trust has been stretched thin in Nigeria.
The tragic events of October 20, 2020, when armed security forces opened fire on peaceful protesters holding the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem at the Lekki Toll Gate, drove that deficit even deeper.
Five years later, accountability for this gross crime against Nigeria’s democracy remains elusive. No one has been held responsible for the killings.
The reports of judicial panels of inquiry established to investigate the atrocities and the incidents of police brutality and corruption that led to the protests have largely been ignored, and the reforms demanded by citizens remain unimplemented.
Instead, Nigeria’s civic space continues to shrink, and the same patterns of state overreach persist.
The #EndSARS protests of 2020 were not just about police brutality; they were an outcry against years of governance failure, corruption, and injustice.
Young Nigerians took to the streets to demand dignity, safety, and fairness. Their five demands were clear: justice for victims of police abuse, compensation for families, oversight of police misconduct, reform of policing practices, and better conditions for law enforcement officers.
Yet, the lessons of that movement remain unlearned. The events of the #EndBadGovernance protests in 2024 laid this bare. Instead of addressing the root causes of citizens’ frustration, spiraling inflation, deepening insecurity, and widespread poverty, the government met protesters with disproportionate force.
At least 30 citizens were killed, and dozens, including minors, were detained for the mere act of waving a foreign flag. The haunting images of malnourished children being charged with treason and standing trial for “protesting” remain a stain on our collective conscience just as indelible as the memories of October 20, 2020.
Across the world, young people are standing up for justice and demanding that governments listen. From Kenya to Nepal, and most recently Madagascar, a new generation is reshaping the global civic landscape through peaceful protest and collective action.
While some governments have faltered and resorted to repression, others have learned to engage these movements through dialogue and reform – understanding that protests are not threats, but expressions of democracy in action.
Violence, intimidation, and suppression can never be the right or sustainable response to citizens’ demands for accountability and better governance.
In Nigeria, however, peaceful dissent remains perilous. The government has continued to misuse laws such as the Cybercrime Act, originally designed to combat online fraud, to target journalists, human rights defenders, and ordinary citizens for expressing opinions.
This practice erodes the very foundation of our democracy and sends a dangerous message — that freedom of expression exists only on paper.
Five years on, the wounds of 20.10.20 still ache and remain ever fresh for the families and loved ones of the victims.
Many victims remain unacknowledged, their families uncompensated, and their killers unpunished.
Worse still, there is evidence that fear has taken root. During the 2024 protests, many citizens stayed home, not out of apathy, but out of fear that the state would once again turn its guns on its own people.
This is not the hallmark of a thriving democracy; it is a warning that Nigeria’s democracy is on tenterhooks.
As we mark this solemn anniversary, Global Rights stands in solidarity with all who lost their lives, livelihoods, or liberty in the struggle for justice and democratic accountability.
We restate our demands:
Accountability — The Nigerian government must identify, arrest, and prosecute those who ordered and carried out the shootings at the Lekki Toll Gate and those who have since attempted to cover up the truth.
Reform — The government must implement comprehensive policing reforms, beginning with the full implementation of the recommendations of the judicial panels of inquiry.
Respect for Rights — Law enforcement officers and Security agents must be trained to manage protests in a de-escalatory, rights-respecting, and democratically compliant manner, consistent with Nigeria’s Constitution and international obligations.
Civic Protection — The government must end the misuse of legislation such as the Cybercrime Act to silence dissent and must protect, rather than punish, those who exercise their right to free expression and peaceful assembly.
No government enjoys criticism — but strong democracies use it as feedback. Nigeria must learn to listen to its citizens, not muzzle them. The right to protest is not a privilege granted by the state; it is a democratic right that protects the state itself from tyranny.
As a new wave of global protests sweeps across continents, may we never again allow our nation to descend into the darkness of October 20, 2020. Justice delayed is democracy denied.
Abiodun Baiyewu
Executive Director
