The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other matters has admitted that about nine people were killed at the Lekki toll plaza when men of the Nigerian Army went there to break up the #EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.
The panel also called for disciplinary action such as stripping of status, and dismissal of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army that were sent to the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020.
The report of the panel titled: ‘Report of Lekki Incident Investigation Of 20th October 2020’ said that ‘officers of the Nigerian Army “provocatively and unjustifiably” shot live bullets and killed several #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Tollgate, and then took their corpses away.
Also, another news medium reports that the panel listed 48 names as casualties of the incident.
The report read that “The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags, while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a massacre in context.
“It was alleged and corroborated that the soldiers had their vans parked at the Lekki tollgate and removed as many bodies and corpses of the fallen protesters, which they took away with their vans.”
“the testimony of Dr Babajide Lawson of Reddington Hospital as to the nature of treatment offered victims of the Lekki Tollgate Incident in relation to gunshot wounds, which were high velocity ‘entry and exit’, all indicate injuries from military weapons, consistent with the bullet shells recovered by the panel during its visit and the witnesses that testified before the panel.”
“The panel finds corroboration of the case of gunshot wounds in the testimony of Dr Aromolate Ayobami of the Grandville Trauma Centre, where several victims of gunshot wounds were treated comprehensively and discharged.
“General Taiwo was shown video clip 202010.wa0313 of Hq81D file where protesters were shouting that the Army had shot and killed. He admitted seeing someone lying on the ground with what looked like blood but stated that the video was fake when he did not produce his own original video on behalf of the Army.
“The testimony and report of Prof John Obafunwa, a forensic pathologist of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, showed that three corpses were deposited at the Mainland Hospital, Yaba Hospital, all from the Lekki Tollgate and the autopsy conducted thereon revealed death from bleeding caused by penetrating objects or rifled weapon.
“The panel finds that the fact of lack of identity of some of the other 96 corpses on the list supplied by Prof Obafunwa would not obliterate the fact that some of them could have come from the Lekki Tollgate incident of October 20, 2020 or that some other unidentified corpses may have been removed by their families or the military, as claimed by the #EndSARS protesters, far and beyond the list tendered by Prof Obafunwa.”
“Panel also finds that the shooting of the protesters by the Nigerian Army at the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020 was unwarranted, excessive, provocative and unjustifiable in the circumstances of the state of the protests, which were peaceful and orderly.”
Lagos Judicial Panel on #EndSARS further called for “disciplinary actions to the following officers (Lt. Col S. O. Bello and Major General Godwin Umelo), who refused to honour the summons of the panel in order to frustrate the investigation.
“All officers (excluding Major General Omata) and men of the Nigerian Army that were deployed in the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020 should be made to face appropriate disciplinary action, stripped of their status, and dismissed as they are not fit and proper to serve in any public or security service of the nation.”
It said the Divisional Police Officer of the Maroko Police Station along with policemen deployed from the Maroko Police Station on October 20 and 21, 2020 should be prosecuted for arbitrary and indiscriminate shooting and killing of protesters.
The panel gave the following recommendation
“Upon the above key findings amongst others, the Panel made a total of 32 Recommendations, which included but not limited to:
“Holistic Police Reforms covering welfare, training and proper equipping of Policemen and their working environment;
“Sanctioning of the officers of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force respectively who participated in shooting, injuring and killing of unarmed protestors at the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20 and 21st of October 2020;
“Development of more robust engagement between the Youth and the Government;
“Setting up of a Standing Committee/Tribunal to deal with cases of Violation of Human Rights by security agencies and a trust fund to settle compensation awarded by such committee/tribunal;
“A public apology to ENDSARS protesters who were killed, injured and traumatized by the Incident of the 20th of October 2020;
“The memorialization of the Lekki Toll Gate and the 20th of October going forward.
“The recognition of Hospitals and Medical Doctors who played heroic roles following the Incident of the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October 2020 thereby saving lives and minimizing the impact of the injuries suffered by the victims, most of which were on a pro-bono basis;
“The Panel recommended various sums of compensation to victims of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident, which must be expeditious in order to accelerate the healing process.
“The Panel recommended that any data that may have been generated over the years on the impunity of the Police across Nigeria be studied and deployed as early warning signs (EWS) mechanism.”
