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Nigerian youth protest one year after bloody crackdown

Nigerian youths staged commemorative protests in Lagos and Abuja on Wednesday, a year after security forces violently suppressed mass demonstrations against police brutality and bad governance. Under the watchful eye of police, dozens of protesters gathered in a procession of cars waving green and white national flags from windows at the Lekki toll plaza in Lagos, the site of last year's crackdown on #EndSARS protests. Last year's rallies began as a protest against police brutality by the special police unit (SARS), but turned into protests against bad governance in the largest mass demonstrations in modern Nigerian history. They came to a halt on October 20, 2020, when security forces fired on thousands of peaceful protesters gathered at the Lekki toll plaza in Lagos. Several dozen protesters also gathered in Abuja on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary, chanting "The united people can never be defeated."