By Jane Okeke
Six years after the #EndSARS protests, CAPPA is demanding an apology, prosecutions and compensation for victims of the October 20, 2020, Lekki Toll Gate shootings, insisting that the search for justice must not end with disputed reports and unfulfilled promises.
In a statement issued on October 19, 2026, and signed by Robert Egbe, Media and Communications Officer of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the organisation called on the Federal and Lagos State Governments to acknowledge the abuses and ensure those responsible face justice. It also urged political parties to make police accountability a priority ahead of the 2027 elections.
The #EndSARS movement began with demands to end police brutality, particularly abuses linked to the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad. But the deadly crackdown on protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, became a defining moment in the struggle for police reform and accountability.
CAPPA is renewing pressure over the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry’s 309-page report, which described the Lekki incident as a “massacre in context” and implicated the Nigerian Army and police in deaths and injuries. The group criticised the Federal Government’s rejection of the findings and the Lagos State Government’s White Paper disputing aspects of the casualty records.
The organisation is also demanding full implementation of a July 2024 judgment by the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, which found Nigeria liable for violating protesters’ fundamental rights and ordered compensation and fresh investigations. CAPPA wants authorities to disclose the progress made in complying with the ruling.
Justice is also being sought for journalist Pelumi Onifade, who was 20 when he was arrested by Lagos State Task Force personnel while covering protest-related events in October 2020 and later died. CAPPA cited an autopsy confirming a fatal gunshot wound to his lower torso and called for the prosecution of those responsible, noting that the findings were not formally presented before the coroner’s court until 2026.
CAPPA warned that alleged abuses against protesters remain a concern, citing the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance demonstrations and allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, extortion and arbitrary detention at Tiger Base, an anti-kidnapping unit of the Imo State Police Command in Owerri.
The organisation also cautioned that establishing state police without tackling impunity could reproduce existing abuses at the state level. It called for mandatory body-worn cameras for frontline officers, independent investigations into misconduct and criminal prosecution where evidence establishes wrongdoing.
CAPPA wants a national reparations programme that provides compensation and medical and psychological support for survivors, alongside justice for victims’ families. It also called for outstanding charges against people prosecuted solely for peaceful protests to be dropped and Lekki Toll Gate to be designated a national historic memorial, insisting that accountability must go beyond official statements to deliver concrete results.
