Amnesty International Nigeria has called for a comprehensive and transparent investigation by a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of 103 individuals who were killed during the EndSARS protests.
The organisation has expressed concerns regarding the Lagos State Government’s intention to proceed with a mass burial, urging them to postpone such plans.
This comes after a leaked email written to the Lagos State Ministry of Health revealed that N61,285,000 had been cleared by the state government for the mass burial of 103 people who had been recognised as 2020 EndSARS victims.
The letter, which was discovered on social media on Sunday morning and is dated July 19, 2023, details the procedures for receiving payments after the governor has given his consent.
The disputed Lekki Tollgate shooting was not the cause of the victims to be buried, according to the Lagos State Government.
While verifying the letter, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, insisted that the victims were the result of violence that transpired in the wake of the EndSARS protests.
In response, the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, in a statement on Monday, said, “The Nigerian authorities must urgently halt their plans to carry out a secret mass burial of #EndSARS victims and instead carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the killings and ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice in fair trials.”
The human rights organisation emphasised the necessity for the authorities to conduct coroner inquests and autopsies on the 103 individuals who lost their lives during the #EndSARS movement. It further urged the publication of the victims’ identities and the details surrounding their deaths in a transparent manner.
“It is appalling that the Lagos state government has not even mentioned that it has held the bodies of 103 #EndSARS victims in its custody since October 2020,” Sanusi said.
“All those detained because of their role in the #EndSARS protests must be immediately released. The Nigerian authorities must also ensure that victims and their families are provided with access to justice and effective remedies, including adequate compensation.”
The non-governmental organisation stated that since the #EndSARS protests started on October 8, 2020, it has been keeping track of developments in Nigeria.
“In October 2020, an on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International confirmed that Nigerian security forces opened fire on thousands of peaceful protesters, who were peacefully calling for good governance and an end to police brutality, killing at least 12 protesters at Lekki toll gate and in Alausa,” director Sanusi said.
“Amnesty International was able to establish that pro-government supporters instigated violence at many of the demonstrations, providing cover for the police to use lethal force against peaceful protesters.
“On 16 November 2020, a Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up to investigate the Lekki toll gate killings submitted its report, which indicted the military and the police for killing unarmed protesters, who were sitting on the floor and waving Nigerian flags and singing.”
