Desmond Elliott Recounts Narrow Escape From Fire Attack During #EndSARS Protests

Actor and lawmaker Desmond Elliott has revealed he was nearly burnt alive during the #EndSARS protests in October 2020 when his constituency office in Surulere, Lagos, was attacked.

Speaking in a recent interview with Nollywood On Radio, Elliott, who represents Surulere in the Lagos State House of Assembly, said he was forced to spend the night in his office due to the curfew imposed during the protests. While watching TV that night, he was startled by the screams of his landlady’s daughter, warning intruders that he didn’t live there.

The situation escalated quickly when an assailant hurled a petrol-filled bottle into his office, sparking a fire.

“I have never been so scared in my life,” Elliott recalled. “Because of the curfew, I couldn’t go home to Lekki and had to sleep at my office. I didn’t expect anything, but suddenly I heard my landlady’s daughter screaming. That’s when I realized something was wrong. Moments later, someone threw a bottle with fuel into the office and it caught fire. I had to call the chief of staff for help—it was horrible.”

Elliott became a controversial figure during the protests after referring to protesting Nigerian youths as “children,” a comment that drew widespread backlash.