According to a leaked report reviewed by reporters and validated by three persons close to the panel that prepared it, the Nigerian Army shot live rounds at peaceful demonstrators at a toll gate in Lagos in October 2020.
The report described the incident as a “massacre,” and that most of the army officers stationed at the Lekki Toll Gate were “unfit and unsuitable to serve,” and certain police officers should be prosecuted for their acts.
“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 be described in context as a massacre,” according to the report.
Requests for comment from the military, police, and the Lagos state administration were not immediately returned. Previously, both the military and the police have denied firing live shots.
The shootings put an end to weeks of statewide protests against police brutality and provoked Nigeria’s worst civil unrest since the civilian government was restored in 1999.
Following the protests, rights groups accused security personnel of covering up the incident and described a pattern of harassment of protesters, including threats, detentions, and asset freezes.
‘INHUMAN AND CRUEL’
According to the report, there was an attempt to cover up and conceal the occurrence, with police officials picking up bullets and state agencies cleaning up the site, as well as summoned army officers who refused to appear before the panel.
It went on to say that the army, which had been invited in by Lagos state, had broken its own rules of engagement. Soldiers turned ambulances away from the gate, according to the report, in a “cruel and inhuman” behavior that contributed to protester deaths and injuries.
It listed 48 “casualties,” including 11 people slain, four people missing and feared dead, and a number of people who were shot. Nearly 100 more unidentified bodies in Lagos state could potentially be linked to the tragedy, according to the report.
On Monday, the judicial panel tasked with examining the incident and abuses by the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police division handed over its findings to the Lagos state government, but it was not immediately made public.
The Lagos state administration announced on Monday that a “white paper” on the investigation will be released in two weeks.
The panel issued 32 suggestions, including police changes, a protestors’ memorial, a compensation fund, and the creation of a permanent human rights tribunal.
“The panel thinks that if the suggestions are implemented, the Lekki Toll Gate incident of October 20, 2020, would never happen again…and that healing will occur in the magnificent state of Lagos,” it stated.
