How I was almost burnt alive in Lagos – Desmond Elliot

Nollywood actor-turned-legislator, Desmond Elliot, has opened up about a harrowing incident during the 2020 #EndSARS protests, revealing he was nearly killed when unidentified attackers targeted his office.

The #EndSARS demonstrations were a widespread youth-led movement calling for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a controversial police unit long accused of brutality and corruption. Although the campaign succeeded in prompting the dissolution of SARS, the protests were violently suppressed, resulting in numerous casualties.

Elliot, who serves as a representative in the Lagos State House of Assembly, became the focus of public outrage after a video surfaced showing him referring to Nigerian youths as “children” during a legislative session. This drew sharp criticism online, with social media users making him the subject of widespread mockery and memes.

Speaking in an interview on Nollywood On Radio, Elliot described how he found himself in a dangerous situation at his Surulere office amid the chaos of the protests.

“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 stuck in Lekki so I could not go home and had 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.

“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.”

Elliot entered politics in 2015 and currently represents the Surulere Constituency in the Lagos State Assembly under the All Progressives Congress (APC).