By James Orji
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other matters described what happened at Lekki tole gate on October 20, 2020 as a ‘massacre ‘.
Hundreds of protesters, mostly youths had gathered at the venue to protest police brutality, but were later dispersed by soldiers who shot live bullets at them. Some protesters were believed to have been killed by the soldiers, even though the fedral government denied the allegation.
Amnesty International, a globally respected human rights body, including the American based CNN said protesters were killed when soldiers invaded the venue.
But in its report submitted to the Lagos State Government on Monday, the panel headed by Justice Okuwobi described what happened as ‘atrocious ‘ maiming and ‘masacre’ .
The panel said at least 48 protesters were either shot dead, injured with bullets wounds or assaulted by soldiers who stormed the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.
The report partly read in part, “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 Toll Gate and removed as many bodies and corpses of the fallen protesters which they took away with their trucks.
Those involved in the massacre, the report said must be made to face justice, and restitution made to assuage the feelings of the victims.
According to the justice Okuwobi-led panel “that for the purpose of restitution, healing and reconciliation the federal Government needs to publicly apologize to the youth for abruptly undermining the protest with their state actors.
“The Government should do all it can to bridge the gap of distrust with the Youth. A monument memorializing the lives lost and those injured at the Lekki Toll Gate with the names inscribed on the Monument.”
The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed had in October, during the one year memorial of the protest, demanded an apology from CNN and others who reported that protesters were indeed killed by soldiers.
Meanwhile, Olu Adegboruwa, a senior advocate and one of the panel members has threatened to make the report public if the Lagos State Government failed to do so. His threat comes on the back of a similar demand by a civil advocacy group, Enough is Enough on the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration to release the report to the public.
