#EndSARS: Nigerian High Court Adjourns Case Of 22 Victims Of Police Brutality Till May 28
The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has adjourned the case of 22 victims of police brutality against the Nigerian police and Lagos State authorities to May 28, 2025, following the absence of key respondents in court.
One of the victims, speaking to journalists in a video obtained by SaharaReporters, recounted the horrors they endured: “Several other people’s names I cannot recall because we were 22 in total. We were all beaten black and blue simply because we dared to gather at the Lekki Toll Gate, a site of massacre five years ago where Nigerian youths were brutally killed for protesting against police brutality.
“We were arrested and detained for hours. After that incident, we decided ‘enough is enough’. Nigerian people can no longer tolerate the incessant police brutality and suppression of our right to freedom of expression.
“That is why we have come to court with this fundamental human rights case.”He continued, “Many of the defendants, including the Nigerian police, the principal party in this dispute, did not show up in court today. The case has been adjourned to May 28, 2025, with the expectation that all defendants will be present.”
Court documents show that the 22 victims, alongside civil society organisations, are challenging the Inspector General of Police, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CSP Adetayo Akerele (Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force), Lagos State Governor, and the Attorney General of Lagos State.
The applicants argue that their brutalisation, unlawful arrest, and detention violated their constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, peaceful assembly, and freedom of movement as enshrined in Sections 34, 35, 40, and 41 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
They are demanding justice and accountability for what they describe as an “egregious act of arbitrary infringement” on their fundamental rights.
The #EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos also held a solidarity protest on Monday, March 24, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi.
According to the movement, the protest is in support of the 22 victims who were arrested, stripped naked, brutally beaten, and sexually harassed by the Nigerian police at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2024.
The incident took place during the fourth-anniversary commemoration of the #EndSARS movement.
“On October 20 last year, 22 peaceful protesters, including women, were arrested, stripped naked, brutally beaten, and sexually harassed by the Nigerian police at the Lekki Toll Gate while commemorating the 4th anniversary of #EndSARS,” the group stated in a protest notice titled “Protest Rally!”
