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Lekki Toll Gate – A Shrine That Would Continue To Haunt

by Joy
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The first time Ayomide plied the Lekki Toll Gate route was exactly 44 days since the night of 20-10-20. He felt the tremors run down his spine, cold sweat broke down his face. The urge to dock and run was instinctive. “I could still hear the gunshots and cries,” he said.  

This is not particular to Ayomide as his story is similar to those of hundreds of other young Nigerians who sat at the Lekki tollgate that night waving the flag and singing the anthem. A peaceful protest scene by day turned into a scene of blood bath by night, Lekki Tollgate became the scene of the EndSARS massacre. A shrine of patriotism, of resistance, and of sacrifice.  

The Admiralty Circle plaza AKA Lekki toll gate is located in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State in Nigeria. It was established to collect tolls along the 49KM road expansion on Lekki–Eti-Osa Expressway. It is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement between Lagos State’s government and Messrs Ikeja Concession Company Limited LCC. Activities commenced at the plaza on 5 January 2011. 

It is said that when fully functional, the toll gate generates not less than 10 million daily. There is no official word to this number. In fact, everything about Lekki Toll Gate and the money it generates is shrouded in secrecy.  

The events that lead to the Lekki tollgate massacre are long and chequered. Like a deck of cards that unpacked slowly, like a water ripple effect, the EndSARS protest was the stone. 

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EndSars Protest

On the 3rd of October, a video that will be the trigger to a chain of events was released online. In the video, a SARS police officer was captured shooting a young Nigerian in front of Wetland Hotel, Ughelli, Delta State. The video trended on the internet. It was alleged that the police officers took away the young man’s vehicle – a Lexus SUV. The trending video caused a public outcry on social media, especially on Twitter, with the #ENDSARS hashtag trending non-stop.

This was not the first time the hashtag will be trending on Twitter or on other social media platforms. But this time around, destiny seemed to be in the air. Two days later, a report of SARS officers killing a 20-year-old artist called Sleek in September 2019 resurfaced on the internet. Sleek was reportedly shot and killed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by SARS officers. The officers accused Sleek and his friends of robbery and opened fire on the spot killing Sleek and arresting the others.

Thursday 8th October 2020, Nigerian youths poured out on the streets, marching alongside popular celebrities like Runtown and Falz calling for the end of the SARZ unit. A day earlier, a small band of young people had embarked on a 3-day camp-out protest, their first camp was the police headquarters in Lagos state.

Their next stop was the Governor’s office in Alausa, later that night the police seized their tents and harassed them. The next morning, the protesters doubled, youths poured out in numbers to stand against years of police brutality. The face of the protest changed.

P.S: It is important to note that the protesters were largely made up of the younger population and that social media was the catalyst.

This was how the protest spread wings, people holding up their end of the warfare it seemed. In Lagos alone, there were more than 5 protest grounds, major roads were blocked including the Lekki Tollgate which became the epicenter of the EndSARS protest.   

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On the 20th of October 2020, the Nigerian army opened fire on peaceful protesters.

It has been two weeks since the protesters have camped at the Lekki tollgate with nothing but their placards and sheer will to see change. The prevented vehicular passage on the route, most importantly the daily 10 million from the Toll fee was blocked for the Ogas at the top. It was a source of worry for them, the infamous Jagaban of Lagos (Tinubu) was said to be tickled especially. 

In the middle of the fateful day, Lagos state imposed a curfew starting 4 PM. a curfew in the middle of the day for a commercial city, was that even plausible? Was this going to deter the protesters? 

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Arrests As Hundreds Of Protesters Arrive At Lekki Tollgate (Photo+Video)

The crowd at the Lekki Tollgate increased instead, the force of people willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause that they believe in, so the Lekki tollgate became the shrine at which the expensive sacrifice was paid. 

Like a scene from a bad movie, the sad events unfolded starting with the removal of the CCTV cameras and the electricity supplying light to the tollgate was cut off, coincidence? The network coverage for that part of the state was down

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Shortly after the cutting off of light and the CCTV uninstallation, at approximately 6:45 PM, it rained bullets. 

What did the protesters do wrong?  

They sat down with their beloved country’s flag as they were told, believing that no harm will come to them if they were carrying the national flag. To add to this, they sang the national anthem repeatedly. This is possibly one of the nights the whole of Nigeria spent in trauma, the sounds of gunshots thrummed all night.  

A brave protester, a popular DJ, Obianuju Catherine Udeh, known DJ Switch went live on Instagram, thousands of Nigerians tuned in, watching a horrendous scene play out. The country watched as a man struggled for live on the live stream while protesters tried to remove a bullet from his limb. He didn’t make it. He died of gunshots, shot by hands of those who were supposed to protect him. 

It is believed that around 46 young Nigerians, at least, died at the Lekki Tollgate on 20-10-20, several were injured and left for dead. The aftermath of the shooting was total anarchy which spread through the country. 

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It is now months since the Nigerian government ate its young ones at the Lekki tollgate and vehemently denied it. The Lekki tollgate has never remained the same, the memories are still evergreen like yesterday. For all who ply the route, it stares us all in the face, this being where our young heroes laid down their lives.

For several families, they are yet to get closure as the bodies of their loved ones have not been recovered. In the midst of the chaos following the shooting, people jumped into the nearby body of water. Unlucky ones got bullets. There is the case of Elisha Sunday Ibanga who got a call around midnight on October 21st that his older brother was shot dead at the Lekki Tollgate. Till date, the corpse is yet to be recovered.

In February 2021, the Lagos state government made a move to reopen the toll by the panel investigating SARS atrocities in Lagos vote on it. The motion passed 5-4. This sparked off rage among the people which triggered another protest #OccupyLekkiTollgate, scheduled for 13th February but was met with heavy clampdown of protesters by riot policemen. 

It is exactly five months today, and the question remains WHO ORDERED THE SHOOTING?

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