One of the history that happened in my country some years ago is about the Lekki toll gate massacre, this was a devastating incident that occurred on October 20, 2020, in Lagos, Nigeria.
Nigerian youth have been suffering from police brutality, youth can no longer use iPhones without being tagged as a Yahoo boy or fraudster, and youth can no longer travel with their laptops without being stopped on the road and searched, this frustration is too much and the youth needs to put an end to this frustration they are getting from the policemen.
The Nigerian youths decided to reject this frustration by having a peaceful protest all over the states in other to put an end to or dissolve Sars in our country, some states were peaceful with the protest while some states were flowed with the blood of innocent citizens.
Every state has a peaceful protest except for Lagos state, the protest was so bloody and brutal, On that fateful evening, The protesters had gathered at the toll gate to demand an end to police brutality and call for reforms within the Nigerian Police Force. However, the peaceful protest turned violent when the military arrived at the scene. According to eyewitnesses and video footage, the soldiers fired live ammunition at the protesters, killing the youth as if they were killing chickens. Members of the Nigerian Army opened fire on unarmed End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate, resulting in the loss of lives and injuries.
The incident aroused intense anger and criticism both locally and internationally. The military's actions were referred to as unlawful executions, and the Nigerian government came under condemnation for how it handled the matter. The matter was swept under the carpet, it was as if no one was hurt at all, they all denied that no one lost their life in the massacre but all thanks to eyewitnesses and video footage that justified innocent people.
There were rumors of a cover-up attempt by our authorities after the massacre. After first denying that no protesters had been murdered, the authorities later acknowledged that two people had died. But reports from people and video footage showed that the number of casualties was far greater. People were lying in blood, some lost their legs and developed casualties.
According to what I read online last year about the incident was that the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries condemned the violence, and there were calls for accountability and justice. In 2024, the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled that the Nigerian government was guilty of human rights abuses during the End SARS protests, including the Lekki toll gate massacre.
This incident killed the morale of some youths, people no longer want to come out or showcase their right to freedom without being afraid of the outcome, we now keep our opinions to ourselves so we do not pass through the same incident of the past, this incident has become a history in my country because we always celebrate the heroes who laid their lives for others to live without fear of injustice and brutality.
This is my response to this episode of hivelearners community prompt of #hl-w152e2 which the topic is tagged "A LITTLE HISTORY"
