LAGOS, Nigeria—On the afternoon of Oct. 20, technicians from the Lekki Concession Co.—the company operating the Lekki toll gate that became home to Lagos residents protesting police brutality in the Nigerian state for over two weeks—showed up to the protest venue and began to remove CCTV security cameras. For weeks, while other protest venues were plagued by violence, the toll gate had remained safe and calm. Now the cameras watching over it were being taken away.
According to the governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the cameras were merely license plate readers, but protesters feared ulterior motives. Sanwo-Olu had earlier announced a statewide curfew. As residents of Lagos scrambled to get home, protesters remained on the streets.
