How Death Threats on my Children During #EndSARS Changed My Activism - Actress Omotola Jalade

Veteran Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has opened up about a deeply personal and frightening chapter of her life during the 2020 #EndSARS protests, revealing that her children received death threats — a development that forced her to rethink how she engages in activism.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Rubbin’ Minds on Sunday, February 8, the actress, whose career spans over three decades, described the period as the most intense backlash she has ever experienced.

“I am used to death threats; I have received them many times,” Omotola said. “But I have never seen anything like what happened during #EndSARS. It was intense. My kids started getting death threats. That was when it became weird.”

At the height of the protests, Omotola was visibly active on the frontlines. She joined demonstrations at the Lekki Toll Gate and participated in international advocacy efforts, engaging global media and non-governmental organisations to amplify the movement’s message. However, what began as online hostility soon escalated into real-world danger.

“When people started coming physically to my home and place of work to look for me, I knew I had to worry about other people and not just myself,” she explained.

The threats against her children marked a turning point. While Omotola believes activism has always been part of her identity, motherhood forced her to reassess the risks.

“I believe I have been an activist all my life,” she said. “But when my children got older, I had to restrategise. I can’t control where they go… and I don’t want my children to become victims of choices that I have made.”

According to the actress, the #EndSARS experience made it clear that a change was necessary. Rather than stepping away entirely, she shifted her focus from physical protests to advocacy work.

“Instead of physical activism, I moved fully into advocacy,” she noted.

Her involvement in the movement was not without controversy. In the aftermath of the Lekki Toll Gate shootings on October 20, 2020, Omotola faced heavy criticism over a tweet suggesting that “if no one died, people should stop sensationalising” the incident, while stressing that it did not diminish the crime that occurred. Many Nigerians interpreted the comment as insensitive and as casting doubt on the reported deaths.

She later issued an apology, clarifying that she never questioned the loss of lives and was attempting to keep attention on the gravity of the atrocity itself.

The #EndSARS protests, sparked by widespread anger over police brutality by the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), remain one of the most significant moments in Nigeria’s recent history. Years later, many of the movement’s core demands — including accountability, justice, and comprehensive police reform — are still unresolved.

For Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, the experience reshaped not only her activism, but also her understanding of the personal cost that public advocacy can carry.