…Why accountability, justice remain elusive — Lawyers
By Henry Ojelu
Five years ago, streets across Nigeria shook with the chants of restless youths, their placards raised against police brutality and their voices echoing in unison: “EndSARS, End impunity!” From Lagos to Abuja, from Port Harcourt to Jos, young Nigerians confronted a system they believed had failed to protect them.
Today (October 20) as the 5th anniversary of the #EndSARS protests is marked, the movement remains both a milestone in civic awakening and a bitter reminder of how justice can be delayed, denied, or distorted.
This special report revisits the forces that birthed the protests, the faces that defined them, the sites scarred by violence, the judgments handed down by panels and courts and the long wait for justice by victims and their families.
The sparks
The story of #EndSARS is the story of accumulated frustration. For decades, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, originally created in the 1990s to combat violent crime, had become synonymous with abuse. Instead of protecting citizens, SARS operatives were accused of turning Nigerian streets into hunting grounds.
Their methods were crude and notorious: young men stopped for having dreadlocks, wearing earrings, or carrying laptops; phones were seized and combed for ‘evidence’; wallets emptied at gunpoint; parents forced to pay to release their children. Worse, allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances piled up with chilling regularity.
By 2020, these stories had reached a tipping point. Social media became the courtroom where the people presented their evidence — pictures of battered victims, videos of raids, and testimonies of humiliation. The final straw came in early October 2020, when a viral video allegedly showed SARS operatives killing a young man in Delta State. Within hours, hashtags calling for the abolition of SARS trended worldwide.
What began online spilled into the streets. In Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Benin City, and across Nigeria, thousands rallied in unprecedented numbers. It was not just about SARS; it was about dignity, accountability, and the right to live without fear of those meant to protect.
A leaderless revolution
EndSARS was famously described as a leaderless protest. There was no central committee, no political figure issuing directives. Yet, it produced visible faces and voices who rallied the masses.
Segun Awosanya, popularly known as Segalink, had long been a critic of police brutality and became an early reference point. Celebrities such as Falz (Folarin Falana), comedian and activist Mr. Macaroni (Debo Adedayo), and Runtown not only spoke but marched with protesters, lending star power to the streets. Others like Davido, Tiwa Savage, and Burna Boy used music and platforms to amplify the struggle.
Perhaps the most iconic was DJ Switch (Obianuju Udeh), who live-streamed the events of October 20, 2020, at Lekki Toll Gate to over 150,000 viewers on Instagram. Her footage, showing chaos as soldiers opened fire, turned her into an international whistleblower. But the fame came with threats, forcing her into exile.
Grassroots organisers — lawyers offering pro bono services, medics treating wounded protesters, and women coordinating the feminist coalition that funded logistics — kept the movement alive.
Five years later, their trajectories diverge. Some remain vocal in advocacy; others have returned to private lives. But the collective memory they built continues to animate debates about human rights and governance in Nigeria.
Monuments scarred
No place symbolises #EndSARS more than the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. Once a bustling point of economic activity, it became ground zero of the protests. Protesters camped there, singing the national anthem under the flag and holding candlelight vigils for slain compatriots.
On October 20, 2020, the toll gate turned into a scene of blood and controversy. Lights went off, CCTV footage mysteriously failed, and soldiers opened fire. What followed has since been called the Lekki massacre by victims and “a disputed shooting” by authorities.
The toll gate itself suffered vandalism, its facilities damaged in the aftermath. Attempts to rebuild and reopen it sparked outrage, with activists arguing that commercial resumption without justice amounted to an erasure of memory. Several times, youths gathered there to lay wreaths, paint murals, or hold memorial concerts, only to be dispersed by security forces.
Elsewhere, police stations were razed in Lagos, Oyo, Anambra, and Edo. Public transport buses were torched. Government buildings, warehouses, and even private businesses suffered attacks, some hijacked by hoodlums exploiting the chaos. Rebuilding efforts have been uneven: some police stations reconstructed, others abandoned; some warehouses repaired, others left in ruins. The scars remain visible in many communities as daily reminders of a society still searching for closure.
Quest for justice
In response to the outcry, the Federal Government directed all states to set up judicial panels of inquiry into SARS abuses and protest-related violence. Over 29 states established panels, receiving thousands of petitions.
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution was the most prominent. After months of hearings, it concluded that soldiers shot and killed unarmed protesters at Lekki Toll Gate. The panel listed names of victims, recommended compensation, and urged prosecution of erring officers. Its report described the incident as a “massacre.”
Other state panels echoed similar findings: systematic abuse by SARS, gross violations of rights, and the urgent need for reform. They recommended monetary compensation, medical support, and, in some cases, public apologies.
On the international stage, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, in July 2024, ruled that Nigeria violated the rights of protesters at Lekki and ordered reparations. This judgment provided legal weight beyond Nigeria’s borders, affirming the claims of survivors and reinforcing the duty of the state to act.
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch corroborated the panels’ accounts, insisting that justice must not be sacrificed on the altar of political convenience.
Loud on paper, silent in practice
If inquiries and judgments were steps toward justice, implementation has been the missing bridge. Five years later, progress is selective at best.
Some states paid partial compensation to victims. In Lagos, hundreds of millions were disbursed, but many petitioners still wait. The National Human Rights Commission confirmed that awards were issued in several states, but the mode of disbursement was elusive.
Where panels recommended prosecution, few cases reached trial. Many police officers named in reports remain in service, reassigned or quietly reinstated. Structural reforms promised by government — community policing, training, and accountability boards — have not yielded visible transformation.
International partners, including the United States and United Nations, continue to urge Nigeria to honour its commitments. Yet, the gulf between recommendation and reality persists.
Open wounds
As the fifth anniversary is marked today, certain unresolved issues remain sharp: families of victims killed or missing, especially from Lekki, are still awaiting credible investigations, autopsy reports, and prosecutions.
Many victims awarded damages by panels have not been paid. Few, if any, security officials have faced trial for the killings.
Also, the dissolution of SARS has not delivered systemic change. Complaints of abuse continue under new acronyms. Protest memorials are still met with arrests and intimidation, suggesting civic space remains under siege. Full panel reports remain unpublished in some states, fuelling suspicion of cover-ups. These gaps leave a sense of unfinished business — of promises made but not kept.
Why justice for victims remains elusive — Lawyers
Some lawyers who played active roles during the protests gave insight into why, five years on, justice for victims remains elusive.
Disrespect for court orders, invitation to anarchy — Edun, SAN
Former Welfare Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Kunle Edun, SAN, describes #EndSARS as “a dark page in Nigeria’s history,” symbolising government disregard for human life and the rule of law.
He said: “The courts gave judgments awarding damages to victims, yet the government ignored them. Disrespect for judgments is an invitation to anarchy — not even a million soldiers can stop it.”
Edun accused Attorneys-General and legislators of colluding with governors to disobey court orders, saying, “We only have civilian rule, not democracy.”
He urged courts to enforce compliance with their orders and advocated state policing to end abuse.
“We need people-oriented policing, supervised by civil society and state Attorneys-General. A Police Force that oppresses citizens has no place in a democracy,” he declared.
Justice for victims remains elusive because of institutional cover-ups — Ufeli
The Executive Director of Cadrell Advocacy Centre, Evan Ufeli, stated that accountability for #EndSARS victims will remain elusive due to “weak political will, institutional cover-ups, and fear among witnesses.”
“Panels make findings, but there’s no independent process to translate them into prosecutions,” he explained. He added that the ECOWAS Court’s Lekki ruling remains binding but unenforced because the court lacks coercive powers.
“Enforcement depends on domestic implementation and diplomatic pressure,” he said.
Ufeli argued that sustained civil society pressure and international engagement are vital to compel compliance.
“Legal judgments alone are not enough; without political will and institutional reform, justice will remain on paper,” he warned.
Culture of impunity responsible for lack of accountability — Adeyanju
Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju blamed Nigeria’s “systemic culture of impunity” and executive interference for stalled #EndSARS accountability.
“Implementation of judicial panel recommendations depends on political will and budgetary approval, both of which are lacking,” he said.
He noted that while ECOWAS Court rulings are binding, they lack coercive force. “Compliance relies on good faith and civil pressure,” he added.
Adeyanju called for deep structural reforms in policing. “We need to invest in human-rights-based police training, enforce court findings, and guarantee the right to peaceful protest. Ending police brutality requires political courage and respect for the rule of law,” he said.
Victims deserve restitution, not rhetoric — Demechi-Asagba
The NBA representative on the Lagos Judicial Panel, Amanda Demechi-Asagba, insists that victims of the #EndSARS protest deserve real restitution and not rhetoric.
She said: “The panels made clear findings, but implementation has stalled. Victims deserve justice, compensation, restitution, and not rhetoric.”
She urged the Nigerian government to show genuine commitment to reform. “The police must be restructured to prioritise human rights and rebuild community trust,” she said. Failure to act, she warned, could reignite future public anger.
“If the government continues to ignore its own panels and court orders, protests and legal challenges will continue,” she cautioned.
Justice’ll remain a mirage under current political class — Ademiluyi
One of the counsel to victims of the Lekki Toll Gate shooting, Ayo Ademiluyi, insists that accountability will remain elusive as long as the same political class that enabled the massacre still holds power.
“The Lagos Judicial Panel’s findings were nullified by a unilateral White Paper. No victim can get real justice under this current political class because they enabled the injustice perpetrated five years ago on innocent youth calling for change,” he lamented.
Ademiluyi called for urgent reforms in police welfare and structure, saying, “Nothing has changed in five years. We must overhaul police working conditions and pensions. Only then can reforms be meaningful.”
History & unfinished business
Five years on, #EndSARS is both history and an unfinished struggle. It is history because it altered Nigeria’s civic landscape, showing that citizens can rise in mass solidarity against injustice.
It is unfinished because the central demands — justice for victims, prosecution of perpetrators, deep police reform, and restoration of trust — remain largely unmet. For some, the movement is a scar that never healed; for others, it is a beacon of possibility.
What is certain is that the chants of 2020 still echo: “Soro Soke — speak up!” Whether Nigeria answers that call with justice or silence will determine how history judges the nation.
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