A video of a woman recounting a harrowing personal experience during the October 20, 2020, shooting at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos has gone viral on social media, prompting widespread discussion six years after the #EndSARS protests.
In the clip, the woman appears on a programme titled The Briefing Room. She describes being at the protest ground when soldiers opened fire. According to her testimony, a young man held her, shielded her with his body, took a bullet, and d!ed. Subtitles in circulating versions capture fragments of her emotional account, including references to people being told or choosing to sit down and claims surrounding the use of live rounds.
The video has been widely reposted with captions such as “During EndSARS massacre, a guy held me, took a bullet and died!” and calls for identification of the speaker. It forms part of ongoing online remembrance of the events of October 2020, when demonstrators gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate as part of nationwide protests against police brutality, particularly by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The Lekki incident remains highly contested. Protesters, human rights organisations including Amnesty International, and some eyewitnesses, including livestreams by DJ Switch, alleged that Nigerian Army personnel fired live ammunition at largely peaceful demonstrators, resulting in deaths and injuries. The Nigerian Army and federal government initially denied the use of live rounds or the occurrence of a “massacre,” while a Lagos State judicial panel later examined evidence, including videos and testimonies. The panel’s findings and the subsequent white paper issued by the Lagos State Government continue to be debated, with many activists arguing that full accountability has not been achieved.
As of November 1, 2026, the identity of the woman in the latest circulating video has not been publicly confirmed in major reports. The clip has drawn emotional reactions online, with users expressing grief, anger, and renewed calls for justice for those killed or injured during the protests.
The resurfacing of such personal accounts underscores that, six years on, the events of October 20, 2020, and the broader demands of the #EndSARS movement for police reform and accountability remain unresolved for many Nigerians.
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