The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called for a Nigeria where citizens are protected and young people are heard, not silenced.
Obi also called on the government to respect human rights at all times.
Obi made the demands in a statement on Tuesday in which he recalled the famous #EndSARS protest and the subsequent Lekki Toll Gate shootings which happened on October 20, 2020.
Speaking against the backdrop of the incident’s sixth anniversary, Obi said Nigeria must never forget what transpired, nor allow injustice to be normalized.
The former Governor of Anambra State also expressed optimism and belief that good governance and a better future is possible in Nigeria.
“Today, October 20, 2026, marks the sixth anniversary of the Lekki Toll Gate shootings, a painful reminder of the price Nigerian youths paid in their demand for a better country.
“On that fateful night, peaceful #EndSARS protesters were met with gunfire. Lives were lost, many were injured, and the nation was left with questions about justice, accountability, and the sanctity of human life.
“We must never forget. We must never normalise injustice.
“As we remember the victims, I reaffirm my belief that a New Nigeria is possible—a country where citizens are protected, not brutalised; where young people are heard, not silenced; and where government power is exercised with responsibility and respect for human rights.
“Nigeria must become a nation where no citizen is punished for demanding good governance and a better future.
“May the souls of the departed continue to rest in peace. May their sacrifice strengthen our resolve to build a Nigeria where this tragedy will never be repeated.
“A New Nigeria is POssible. A Nigeria where every life matters,” he wrote.
The #EndSARS was a decentralized social movement and series of mass youth protests in Nigeria against police brutality, extortion, and extrajudicial killings by a now-defunct unit of the Nigerian Police Force known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
