The Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS related Abuses in Lagos State has indicted the Nigerian Army for assaulting, injuring and killing unarmed helpless and defenseless protesters.
The Panel stated that 11 people were killed at the Lekki Toll Gate, four missing but presumed dead, 26 protesters received gunshot injuries or got injured while nine others were assaulted by soldiers and police.
It also revealed that 96 corpses labelled as #EndSARS were found across the state.
The panel stated that the October 20, 2020 Lekki Toll Gate protesters were assaulted by security officers without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian Flag.
The Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel described the manner of assault and killing of Lekki Toll Gate protesters as a massacre.
“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,” she said.
Officers and soldiers of 65 Batallion of the Nigerian Army, led by Lt. Col Bello, left their base with blank and live ammunitions to confront and disperse youths holding only their national flags, with live bullets.
The Panel stated that soldiers actually shot blank and live bullets directly and pointedly into the midst of the protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, with the deliberate intention to assault, maim and kill.
The soldiers, it said, turned back ambulances that were invited to render first aid and assistance to the wounded protesters.
It said the conduct of the Nigerian Army was exacerbated by its refusal to allow ambulances render medical assistance to the victims.
“The denial of ambulances by the soldiers, which could have assisted in the prompt and effective treatment of injured protesters, was cruel and inhuman and it contributed immensely to the large number of deaths and casualties on the part of the protesters, especially those from the Lekki Toll Gate,” the panel said.
Speaking on the casualties of the Lekki Toll Gate incident, the panel said: “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 vans.
“One of the protesters who was shot and taken for dead, Olalekan Sanusi, who eventually escaped to narrate his ordeal and experience stated that 11 corpses were in the van, where he was placed in and presumed dead.
“Miss Dabira Ayuku also corroborated the above by stating that she saw about 7 dead bodies placed in one of the military trucks at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of 20th October, 2020.”
After over six months of sitting, examining evidences and interrogating stakeholders, the panel made startling revelations, contrary to the positions of both the state and federal governments that there was no killing talk less of massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate.
The Panel said: “That the Nigerian Army was invited for intervention in the state and was deployed to Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October 2020. At the Lekki Toll Gate, officers of the Nigerian Army shot, injured and killed unarmed helpless and defenseless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian Flag and singing the National Anthem and the manner of assault and killing could in context be described as a massacre.
“The Panel also found that the conduct of the Nigerian Army was exacerbated by its refusal to allow ambulances render medical assistance to victims who required such assistance. The Army was also found not to have adhered to its own Rules of Engagement.
“The Panel found that the Nigerian Police Force deployed its officers to the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th October, 2020 and between that night and the morning of the 21st of October, 2020, its officer shot at, assaulted and battered unarmed protesters, which led to injuries and deaths. The police officers also tried to cover up their actions by picking up bullets.”
The panel also accused the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) of failure to release vital evidence and that the firm operating the Lekki Toll Gate manipulated the incomplete CCTV.
“The panel found that LCC hampered the panel’s investigation by refusing to turn over some useful and vital information/evidence as requested by the Panel and the Forensic Expert engaged by the panel, even where such information and evidence was by the company’s admission, available. It manipulated the incomplete CCTV video footage of the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th of October 2020, which it tendered before the Panel.
“…From the totality of evidence before it, the panel finds that some sets of cameras stationed at the Lekki Toll Gate were removed by members of Staff of LCC on October 2020, and they were not tendered before the panel. These cameras would have assisted the panel in its investigation into the incident that occurred in the night of the 20th October, 2020,” the report stated.
The Panel also punctured the claim of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the invitation of soldiers. The governor had denied that he didn’t invite the soldiers to Lekki Toll Gate.
According to the report, “The Panel found that there was an invitation of the Nigerian Army to Lagos State made by the Lagos State Government through the Governor before the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army deployed its soldiers to the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th of October.
“The Panel found that there was an attempt to cover up the incident of the 20th of October by the cleaning of the Lekki Toll Gate and the failure to preserve the scene ahead of potential investigations.”
Consequently, the Panel made a total of 32 recommendations, including:
*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.
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