On October 20th, 2020, demonstrators in the Nigerian city of Lagos, were gunned down at one of the largest and deadliest protests in a generation. They were calling for the disbanding of a federal police unit called SARS: the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. SARS was created decades ago in response to a rise in theft and violent crimes, but quickly became a criminal enterprise.

The movement to #EndSARS started in 2017 among the youth of Nigeria, and mass protests erupted last fall as a growing reckoning with abuses of power was taking place across the globe. What became known as the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre was a deadly turning point in the #EndSARS movement, forcing many of the demonstrators underground. VICE News’ Alzo Slade meets the young Nigerians at the center of the movement, and those involved in the government’s crackdown.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.