Actor-turned-politician, Desmond Elliot, has opened up about a harrowing experience during the 2020 EndSARS protests, revealing how he narrowly escaped an attack by unidentified assailants while trapped in his constituency office in Surulere, Lagos.
In an interview on Nollywood On Radio, the Lagos State lawmaker recounted being caught in the crossfire of the unrest that followed the imposition of a curfew.
Unable to return to his home in Lekki, Elliot decided to spend the night at his office in Surulere.
The 51-year-old lawmaker said he was watching television when he suddenly heard alarming screams from his landlady’s daughter, who tried to protect him by yelling, “he doesn’t stay here!”
“When there was curfew during the EndSARS period, a lot of bad boys came into Surulere and because of the curfew I could not go home,” he said.
“I was stucked in Lekki so I could not go home and has to go back to my office in Surulere.
“I was inside my office and never knew there was going to be anything so I was watching the TV in my office because I had the intention to spend the night at the office.
“Next thing, I heard my landlady’s daughter screaming, saying I don’t stay there.”
Elliot said the situation escalated quickly when a Molotov cocktail—“a bottle with fuel and fire”—was thrown into his office, igniting a fire.
“When I knew there was a problem was when a bottle with fuel and fire was thrown into my office and it caught fire.
“I had to call the chief of staff for help. I have never been so scared in my life, it was horrible.”
The incident occurred during a period when Elliot was already facing intense backlash for his remarks in the Lagos State House of Assembly, which were perceived by many as unsympathetic to the EndSARS movement.
The fallout from his comments earned him widespread criticism and the label of “Nigeria Twitter’s number one scapegoat,” as online users created numerous memes and jokes at his expense.
