Veteran Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, has revealed that her children received death threats during the 2020 #EndSARS protests, an experience she says forced her to reassess how she engages in activism.

Omotola made this disclosure on Sunday, February 8, while speaking on Channels Television’s Rubbin’ Minds  with Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu

The actress, who noted that she was deeply involved in the protest movement, both physically and through international advocacy, said matters escalated further when people began showing up physically at her home and workplace looking for her.

She said, “I am used to death threats; I have received them many times,” Omotola said. “But what happened during #EndSARS was different. It was intense.

“My children started getting death threats. That was when it became strange and frightening.

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“I was on the streets during #EndSARS. I was also doing international advocacy, speaking with CNN, engaging NGOs and embassies. I was very active,” she said.

“When people started coming to my house and office to look for me, I realised I had to think about others, not just myself,” she said.

The #EndSARS protests, which peaked in October 2020, were a nationwide movement against police brutality, particularly abuses linked to the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Many Nigerians interpreted the comment as dismissive of lives lost. She later apologised, clarifying that she did not doubt that deaths occurred and meant no insensitivity.

Reflecting on her activism, Omotola said she has always been vocal but became more cautious as her children grew older.

“I have always been an activist, even from childhood. Speaking up came naturally to me,” she said. “But when my children got older, I had to restrategise.”

She explained that protecting her family became a priority.

“I can’t control where they go anymore or protect them the way I used to. I don’t want my children to suffer for the choices I made,” she said. “I may not fear for my life, but I fear for theirs.”

The actress said the EndSARS experience marked a turning point in her approach.

“That period made it clear that I needed to change strategy. I moved away from physical activism into full-time advocacy,” she said.

Omotola has been involved in humanitarian and advocacy work for years, collaborating with organisations such as Amnesty International and the UN World Food Programme, and supporting causes across the Niger Delta, Sierra Leone and Liberia.