Prior to late 2020, Matthew Ifeanyi Agbeze was focused on building his career as an entertainer and digital content creator under the pseudonym ‘Precious Stone.’ Through his digital channels, he produced sketches and videos, looking ahead to a bright future in the creative industry. That reality abruptly fractured on October 20, 2020, leaving him bearing the physical and emotional scars of a brutal military assault.
Agbeze and his crew, clad in bright orange vests, had journeyed from Ikorodu to join the demonstrations against systemic police violence at the Lekki Tollgate. Having spent the prior day among the demonstrators, they intended to head back home the next morning. However, transit had grounded to a halt in Obalende, forcing them back to the plaza just as the state government unexpectedly announced a curfew, leaving thousands trapped without viable transportation.
Throughout the day, the atmosphere was peaceful and uplifting. Nigerians from varied ethnic backgrounds shared food, held hands, and stood together in solidarity. But as dusk settled, the atmosphere shifted chillingly. Tollgate surveillance equipment was removed, and the floodlights illuminating the plaza were abruptly extinguished around 7:30 p.m. Shortly afterward, armed personnel moved in.
Believing advice once given to him by his soldier father, Agbeze expected that waving the Nigerian flag would guarantee their safety and prompt the troops to disengage. Instead, soldiers opened fire directly on the cornered, peaceful crowd. Agbeze recalled that the assault felt like an active war zone, remarking that the military targeted them with the same ferocity used against Boko Haram insurgents in the Sambisa wilderness.
As chaos erupted, someone collapsed nearby. Agbeze leaned down to help the individual back to their feet. Before he could stand up, a soldier directly in front of him fired point-blank into his chest. In sheer adrenaline and terror, he scrambled through the darkness toward Lekki Phase 2 before bystanders noticed his catastrophic injury and rushed him to a medical center.
Surgeons treated the wound where the bullet had torn completely through his torso. However, Agbeze could not rest easily in his hospital bed. Whispers spread that troops were actively searching medical wards to round up wounded demonstrators. Terrified for his safety, he deceived the nursing staff into believing he had been cleared to leave and sneaked away, moving repeatedly between hiding spots while trying to recover.
In the years that followed, the search for closure brought little relief. Agbeze testified before the judicial panel of inquiry, which eventually validated his case. Yet, bureaucratic inertia and shifting political cycles left compensation promises entirely unfulfilled. Meanwhile, state harassment continued. When he returned to commemorate the tragedy in 2022, security personnel roughed him up and forced him into a police vehicle until political activist Omoyele Sowore stepped in to demand his release.
Today, Agbeze remains burdened by the lingering trauma and the steep financial costs of recurring corrective surgeries, standing as a living witness to a night the state has continually tried to downplay.
