Morayo Afolabi-Brown recalls escaping TVC fire during 2020 protests
- The TV host said she and colleagues were trapped in the studio as attackers set the building on fire.
- She said her 98-year-old grandmother-in-law and mother-in-law walked through the crowd to find her.
- Afolabi-Brown shared the account on Tuesday, six years after the October 2020 protests.
Television host Morayo Afolabi-Brown has described how she and her colleagues got out of the TVC Communications building in Lagos after it was set on fire during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
She spoke about the night in a video shared on Tuesday, six years after the protests, according to reports by Punch and Legit.ng.
Afolabi-Brown, who hosted TVC's morning programme Your View and is described by Punch as a former managing director of TVC Entertainment, said the team had gone on air the morning after the Lekki shooting. She said she told her colleagues to speak as they felt, because it might be their last chance to do so.
Two of the four presenters could not reach the studio because they were on Lagos Island, she said. She and a colleague, Tope, were on the mainland and presented from the studio while the others joined online.
Trapped inside the studio
While the programme was still live, she said, communication with the control room went silent. She recalled the last words she heard: that the attackers were inside the building.
When she and Tope tried to open the studio door, she said, they saw people already in the newsroom carrying fire. They blocked the door with chairs and considered leaving through a back exit, but dropped the idea when they saw buses burning outside.
She said she called the Commissioner of Police and others for help while they waited inside.
The two outlets differ on one detail: Punch reported that Tope's husband first went with police officers before turning back when he realised his wife was still inside, while Legit.ng said it was Afolabi-Brown's husband.
Afolabi-Brown also said her 98-year-old grandmother-in-law and her mother-in-law left home after seeing the events on television and walked towards the TVC premises. She said the crowd let the two elderly women pass.
"Very painful, but we thank God for life," she said.
She said what happened to her, Tope and the crew should not be played down, and that Nigerians share a stake in the country whatever their workplace.
The 2020 protests against police brutality were led largely by young Nigerians, and the anniversary is being marked six years on.
