Popular comedian and activist, Adebowale Adedayo, commonly known as Mr Macaroni, has taken to the streets of Lagos, leading a peace walk to mark the third anniversary of the Lekki shooting, a sombre event that signalled the conclusion of the historic #EndSARS protests.
News About Nigeria reports that the Lekki shooting, which occurred on October 20, 2020, stands as a powerful symbol of the price paid for the pursuit of justice and an end to police brutality in Nigeria.
The peaceful gathering on Friday was a tribute to the lives lost during the nationwide protests that saw Nigerian youth and concerned citizens take to the streets to demand an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and an overhaul of the policing system.
During the peace walk, Mr Macaroni addressed the need for the unconditional release of #EndSARS protesters who remain in detention. Some of these individuals have been incarcerated since 2020, despite ongoing legal efforts to secure their release.
Mr Macaroni stated that the peace walk is to honour all those who lost their lives on October 20, 2020. We’ve done that. We want to walk back but the police don’t want us to walk back.
“We don’t want to give them a reason or an excuse to fire at us. We’ve been on this for three years now and we know what they are capable of doing.
“I want to use this opportunity to call for the unconditional release of all those [protesters] that are still in prisons. There are still some protesters who have been in prison since 2020. Lawyers have been on the cases, different shouts every day but till now they are still there.
“We are using this walk to once again call on all those concerned to grant the unconditional release of all protesters that are still in prison.”
