Six years after young Nigerians took to the streets to demand an end to police brutality, the anniversary of the EndSARS protests has once again drawn attention to unresolved questions about police accountability, justice for victims and the right to peaceful assembly.

On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, police officers fired tear gas to disperse residents, activists and political figures gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos for a memorial organised by the Enough is Enough (EiE) movement. The gathering was intended to honour those who lost their lives during the 2020 protests, but the planned wreath-laying ceremony was disrupted before it could take place. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Lagos State governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, and Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress were among those at the scene. TheCable and Channels Television reported the incident.

The disruption came six years after the Lekki Toll Gate became a focal point of one of Nigeria's most significant protest movements in recent history. In October 2020, thousands of young Nigerians took to the streets to protest against police brutality, particularly abuses associated with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Protesters accused SARS officers of harassment, extortion, unlawful arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings. What began as a campaign to end the unit's abuses quickly spread across the country, with demonstrators demanding accountability and changes to the way security agencies treated citizens.

On October 20, 2020, soldiers opened fire on protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate. The incident became one of the defining moments of the movement, drawing national and international attention and leaving lasting questions about casualties and responsibility.

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, established to investigate allegations of police brutality and the Lekki incident, subsequently found that protesters had been shot at, injured and killed. However, the Lagos State Government challenged important aspects of the panel's findings in its White Paper. The circumstances of the shootings and the government's response have remained central to discussions about accountability.

The Nigerian government disbanded SARS in October 2020 following the protests. However, the end of the unit did not bring an end to demands for police reform.

For some families, the search for answers has continued years after the protests.

Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old journalist with Gboah TV, disappeared in October 2020 after covering events connected to the unrest in Lagos. Witnesses reportedly said he was shot and taken away by police personnel. His family later learnt that a body believed to be his had been deposited at a morgue, but the identification process and efforts to obtain answers became prolonged.

In June 2026, DNA testing confirmed that an unidentified body recovered in 2020 was Onifade's. A postmortem report published in September subsequently confirmed that he died from a firearm injury to the abdomen. His death is the subject of a coroner's inquest, following a Federal High Court order directing an investigation into the circumstances surrounding it. Premium Times reported the postmortem findings.

Onifade's case has become one of the clearest examples of the difficulties families have faced in seeking answers about deaths linked to the 2020 unrest. Although the DNA identification and postmortem findings represent developments in the investigation, they do not by themselves establish criminal responsibility for his death.

Six years after the demonstrations began, the anniversary remains an occasion for Nigerians to remember those who died and assess the promises made in response to the movement. The use of tear gas against participants at Tuesday's memorial has added a new development to that discussion, raising questions about how authorities handle peaceful commemorations.

The demands that brought protesters to the streets in 2020 included an end to police brutality, accountability for abuses and respect for citizens' rights. The continued calls for compensation, investigations and the implementation of reform recommendations show that these questions remain part of Nigeria's public debate.

As Nigerians mark the sixth anniversary of EndSARS, the central issue is not only how the protests changed the country in 2020, but whether the grievances that drove them have been adequately addressed.